Origin ARS 5 Read online

  Scott looked the racial choice over for a moment then grinned. “This could work!”

  “I don’t blame you. It’s a post-reincarnation only race as well, so you would not have been able to choose it on the casual server when you first arrived.”

  “I think it would work out well for me as a sorcerer as well. It adds bonuses to health and mana growth.”

  “Most reincarnation races do. Still, you’re right that it would help a great deal. That race is specifically tied to magic wielders of the sorcerer, paladin, and summoner class lines.” said Mid.

  Scott made his choice then felt a strange shimmering sensation flow through his body. When it stopped he was registered as his new race. He was a Lunarii, a race of ascended humans who had developed an affinity for starlight and could use it to manifest unique racial abilities. All of his physical changes were internal as it was something like a second-tier human race upgrade.

  He checked his status in the mirror.

  [Status]

  Scott Jacobs

  Race: Lunarii | Class: Twilight Master

  Age: 18 | Max Lifespan: Ageless

  Level: 1 | Title: The Reborn

  Attack:140 | Defense: 140

  Strength: 100 |Agility: 100 | Vitality: 100

  Intellect: 100 |Charisma: 100| Attunement: 100

  [—]

  [Racial Abilities]

  Health and Mana regenerates four times faster when under the light of the sun or the moon.

  Improved Health Growth

  Improved Mana Growth

  Racial Power: Celestial Attunement (Sorcerer Only)

  Racial Power: Starburst Sword (Paladin Only)

  Racial Power: Summon Nova Beast (Summoner Only)

  Ageless

  Experience Requirements are Four Times Higher than a Standard Human

  [—]

  [Class Abilities]

  Improved Unarmed Combat Development

  Improved Magical Development

  Unarmed Combat Attack Power Base is Equal to 140% of the Strength Stat

  Unarmed Combat Defense Power Base is Equal to 140% of the Agility Stat

  Twilight Sorcery Development

  Innate Synchronization

  [—]

  “That looks fairly badass for level one.” said Scott.

  Mid chuckled softly then gestured with her staff. “You are definitely better off than the first time that you stepped out of this field.”

  “What are those racial abilities that I’m seeing?” he asked. He had primarily chosen his new race for the fact that he would be able to regenerate his health rapidly instead of waiting solely for his enhanced vitality to heal his wounds.

  “Well, yours allows you to attune to the energies that celestial bodies radiate. Basically, it works the same as your other elemental abilities except that celestial energy overshadows the four basic elements.”

  “Overshadows?” asked Scott.

  “Only celestial energy resists celestial energy. It’s something only reincarnated individuals with advanced classes or races can use.” said Mid.

  “Are you saying that it negates all defenses?”

  “No, there are defenses against it. You can develop celestial resistance, or avoid being hit by a celestial attack. Otherwise, you have to weather the damage inflicted.”

  “Sounds awesome, but wouldn’t a lot of people try to develop resistance?”

  “Most can’t due to race and class restrictions. They tend to use items that add such resistances, though those are rare.”

  Scott thought that it still sounded a bit broken. Even in a generally imbalanced system like ARS had been on the casual server, there had to be a balance. “What’s the catch? Why wouldn’t everyone just play as a character with celestial abilities?”

  “Well, for one thing you can easily kill yourself. Celestial attunement abilities drain mana and health simultaneously at a far more rapid rate than elemental abilities. Even a basic aura generation will drain you at first.”

  “Well that makes sense. What do those other racial powers do? You know, the starburst sword and the nova beast?”

  Mid smiled at him. “So curious. Well, the sword is a manifestation of celestial energy that a paladin can wield, a real sword of light. It works exactly the same as your ability except that it is manifested in a single way, and provides both perks and penalties to friend and foe.”

  “I can see why a paladin would want that! A sword made of magic that can ignore elemental defenses would be hell to deal with on a battlefield.”

  “Yes, but don’t forget that it bolsters the abilities of friends and weakens opponents at the same time. At higher attunement levels it can even occasionally produce an effect that instantly kills an undead opponent regardless of level or defenses.”

  “Are all second-tier races like this? The overpowered abilities?” asked Scott.

  “Yes, for the most part. Those locked races were unlocked for you due to your champion status, as well.”

  “So, favoritism leads the charge.” said Scott evenly. Whatever he could do to get a little help in defeating the Lords of Destruction, he would take. Though it did seem strange to get such treatment when Rhea had implicitly stated that too much of that type of behavior would be construed as cheating. It would result in forfeiting to the board members before the entire ordeal even began.

  “Usually a player or a local has to undertake a quest to unlock the races they are interested in prior to reincarnation.” She touched her nose with the tip of her finger. “You’re technically considered something along the lines of in-world system support so it was allowable. That’s not favoritism, that’s just the way the system works.”

  Scott started to make a snarky come back about that, but stopped mid-sentence. If it was legit, he should just accept it. He was not a normal player anyway. If he died because he refused to accept whatever help he could get, he would be an idiot.

  Mid took a breath then pointed the head of her staff toward him. “I know that seems like favoritism to you anyway, but look at it from the perspective of someone who has to do tech support.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “Do you think every single new avatar made to manage the system’s upkeep should have to level manually to level one hundred and go on multiple quests just to do the job of system maintenance?”

  “Well, no…” said Scott.

  “Exactly. Despite what you are starting out with, you are not a game breaker by any stretch of the imagination. Besides that, there are still locked races for you to discover. The ones you can choose here are simply those that are easy to unlock.” She poked her staff toward him again in order to emphasize her next point. “If anything, you are fairly weak for someone who just reincarnated because you are forced to deal with the limitations of transferring from the casual server.”

  Scott smiled at her. “I should work on that.”

  Mid tapped the brim of her hat then pointed her finger forward. “Sounds about right.”

  A moment of confusion arose. Scott had a general idea about the process of skill creation, but he did not know the actual process. His look of confusion caused Mid to roll her eyes gently then gesture at him with her staff. “Just think clearly about all of the skills and spells that you had when you were on the old server. They all still exist in memory. Use those memories to create unique new abilities as your starting skills. You can also use the mirror to select miscellaneous skills not related to your class.”

  “Miscellaneous skills, I can have up to four right?”

  Mid nodded. “That’s true.”

  Scott moved back over to the salvation mirror and looked for an option that mentioned skills. “Is it true that I can only increase the number of miscellaneous skills when I reincarnate?”

  “Yes, but they can be activated or deactivated at any time, unlike class skills. Those are permanently added.”

  “Oh, so it’s four interchangeable skills that I can use at any time?” />
  Mid nodded. It was a fairly simple concept. “You have to use a salvation mirror to change skills. Otherwise, that’s the way it works.”

  “How does that work, though? If I change skills do I just forget how to do something?” Scott was used to his brain being toyed with by now, but he wanted to keep his memories intact at least.

  “Ah no, you merely lose any bonuses from that skill. They increase through use and comprehensive development, so you would still know how to use a skill even if it would be incredibly weak without the system support.”

  “Ah, good.” Scott looked through his options for a moment, but only a moment. He only had three miscellaneous skills to put into a slot. He placed [Survival Lore] and [Boomerang Mastery] into active slots then nodded. The third skill [Dual Boomerang Specialization: Novice] would not activate in a slot.

  He decided to check the information for each of his previously mastered skills. He knew that they would start at a low level, but not exactly what they would do here.

  [Skill]

  Survival Lore

  The ability to survive in the wild. This skill governs activities such as foraging for food, identifying poisonous items or venomous animals, setting traps, fishing, general observation and various other outdoor activities such as climbing.

  This skill is a pre-requisite skill for the development of specialization in various survival activities. Development of this skill does not increase visible statistics but it does allow for the development of survival specializations through trial and error.

  Development Speed: A

  [—]

  [Skill]

  Boomerang Mastery

  The ability to effectively wield thrown items that return to the thrower. This skill governs the development of raw mechanical skill in boomerang usage, as well as the ability to develop special techniques for use with a boomerang.

  This skill is a pre-requisite skill for the development of specialization in various types of boomerangs. This skill improves the hidden variable [Accuracy] and increases the base damage dealt by boomerang weapons by a small amount per skill level.

  This skill’s base attack power is based on a combination of [Agility] and [Strength].

  Development Speed: E

  [—]

  “I assume A-Rank development speed is better than E-Rank?” asked Scott.

  “Yes, considerably so. Only S-Rank is higher. That is for class specific skills.” said Mid.

  “Do development speeds for miscellaneous skills vary by the person?”

  She shook her head. “They are set by the system. Combat and magic related skills tend to develop much more slowly as miscellaneous skills when compared to class skills. Crafting and survival type skills tend to develop only a little more slowly.”

  “Can I increase the development speed at all?”

  “Certain quests can do that, though you’ll be unable to remove the skill from your skill slot until after reincarnation if you undertake that route.”

  Scott stared at the mirror for a moment then asked. “How come I can’t add Dual Boomerang Specialization to my miscellaneous skills?”

  Mid laughed softly then shook her head. “You answered your own question, childe.”

  “Hmm?” asked Scott curiously.

  She smiled at him then whirled the head of her staff around. “It’s not a skill. It’s a specialization. When your skill at using boomerangs reaches certain level intervals you can choose specializations that you have previously developed.”

  “I see. Does survival lore work the same way?” he asked.

  “All basic skills do. First comes the basic skill, or pre-requisite. Afterward you develop and attach specializations to that skill.”

  “Neat.” said Scott. “How do I develop a specialization?”

  “Train with someone proficient at a certain specialization or use your skill in a specific way often enough to develop one. You won’t receive any sort of notification about developing them, though. Check with a salvation mirror now and then to see if anything new has become available to you.”

  “So knowledgeable!” said Scott brightly.

  Mid tipped her hat toward them then chuckled softly. “I do try.”

  Scott grinned at her for a moment then rubbed his chin. He now had to decide on his initial skills. He already had basic class skills including the ability to use primordial water magic. What he needed to choose was his starting spells and skills that he would custom create. He thought of them as spells and skills, but technically they were all spells.

  “I can custom create six starting spells, right?” asked Scott. The limitations placed on him for reincarnating after a transfer were fairly high. If he lived long enough to reincarnate again, he would keep all of his previously developed spells and gain even more spells slots as he leveled up.

  “You have the knowledge of how they work, but you can only create spells that you are able to develop with your attunement capacity, combat skill levels, and twilight sorcery level.” said Mid. “Just remember how the spells and skills from before felt when you used them. Go from there.”

  “Alright. I will.” said Scott.

  He walked away a short distance and thought strongly about his previous spells and combat techniques. He could combined them in any fashion that he liked, as long as he could properly attune that level of magical power.

  “Keep it simple…” thought Scott. He needed a few simple spells that would be easy to rapidly cast and would have a short cool down period.

  Scott thought about one of his first combat skills, the rapid strike ability. As a twilight sorcerer his path was to combine his martial skills and his elemental magic. If he wanted to mimic rapid strike and create a new twilight sorcery based on it, he would need to find the element that best lent itself to rapid movement.

  Two elements readily sprang to mind, lightning and wind. However, there were five elements that he had access to at the moment. Actually, six if he included celestial attunement. He was not certain what to do with the latter ability yet, but he would find out in due time.

  “It should be lightning…” Lightning was an element that traveled through things, while wind was a force of forward motion. The first would pierce or penetrate, the latter would bash or force something away.

  Scott closed his eyes for a moment and sought out his connection with the world around him. The secret of the power that a twilight master possessed was his connection with nature. By utilizing the energies available in the environment he could increase the potency of his spells and reduce the drain on his spiritual power when using those spells.

  He called to the lightning that danced along the edge of his consciousness. It was amazingly easy to discover it here in this place. Scott did not cease concentration to ask a question about that. This place was designed to assist new players entering the world. It made sense that skill creation would be easiest in the Field of New Beginnings.

  Scott felt the lightning outside, and knew of the lightning within himself. These forces, the outer and inner lightning element joined together and began to resonate. His inner lightning elemental essence grew and radiated outward from his spiritual core. It was easy to radiate an aura of lightning in this place. Soon electricity crackled all around him. Little spider legs made of lightning crept out from his body for short distances.

  Scott punched the air before him experimentally. He heard hissing and crackling sounds that made him nod. He punched again, and then once more. With each punch he felt the lightning surge through his body.

  It took him a moment to realize that his concentration on the lightning surge caused him not to notice the fact that his fist shot out just ahead of it. He already knew how a rapid strike was supposed to be executed. This was different. The lightning caused his fist to surge ahead of it.

  If he wanted to punch faster, punch harder, the lightning surge was the key. Scott concentrated on the surge for a moment then urged it to go faster. His punches became wild, uncontrolled,
but they were fast and strong.

  Scott practiced his lightning surge focus for what seemed like hours due to his level of concentration. It was not until he opened his hands and tried the same surge focus technique that he noticed how much it had improved. He tried it repeatedly after that and it was not long before a sense of realization caused his eyes to widen. “Of course!”

  He drew on his connection with elemental lightning and used it to enhance the surging power that flowed forward unrestricted. His closed fist had prevented what the lightning needed most, a way through. His closed fist blocked the power from finishing its movement. His open palms allowed the surge to properly flow.

  In the end, he was able to develop a simple spell that had a lot of room for further development. For one thing, the attack power would be on the level of an accidental static shock. Utilizing only his elemental connection was not yet enough to create a powerful technique. His new ability needed fuel.

  Scott began to focus on the core of his being, the place where his spiritual power resided. As he did so, he created an image in his mind. That image was of open palms rapidly striking the air while electrical force flowed to the center of each palm.

  The hardest part of developing the spell was holding that image in mind, while also remaining in connection with both the lightning and his spiritual center. It was the reason why magic users needed high intellect. That stat allowed for greater ability to multi-task. His attunement was also a key factor. It was not a hidden stat in this world, and it was vital for maintaining strong connection with the myriad parts of his ability. He would train it hard when the opportunity arose.