Chapter 375: New Skills!

I opened my eyes after selecting the only class I could’ve.

[*ding!* Congratulations! You’ve gained the class [Bookwyrm]!]

No levels in it. Drat. Resetting my class didn’t seem to bring stored experience over. I wanted the almost 900 stat points per level!

My improved senses made me the ultimate sneak. I could tell what Iona and Auri were doing in the living room. Skye was studying in her room, and Varuna had left about an hour ago. Reinhard’s room was the only one I couldn’t peek into, the kirin having established a number of privacy runes in her room.

Smart. I should probably offer to make a set for Skye, so she didn’t think I was constantly spying on her.

Onto my new skills!

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Spatial Affinity]!]

Affinity, fun.

Figuring out the affinity tree had been one of my earlier classes. It came in four tiers, corresponding to the four stars in the constellation I’d seen when I built [The Dawn Sentinel].

Affinity came first. It was the ‘basic connection’ to the element. I could technically ditch the skill, but my skills would be significantly more expensive. As I leveled the skill up, I was technically getting more efficient, but after the first few dozen levels I’d need to look long and hard to see any gains.

Authority came next. The connection was improved. The efficiency was dramatically better, and most importantly, I’d get offered better skills than I would with affinity. Upgrading affinity to authority wasn’t easy; I’d been trying for years now with no luck. The generally accepted method was to completely surround oneself with the element.

Iona had apparently done it while in a frost wyvern’s lair, ice all around her. It was why we went to stargaze at the lake together, hoping that being under the vast starry sky would nudge our affinity towards becoming authority.

Mastery came after that. It was the advanced connection, with great skills, and a minor ‘sense’ of the element around whoever had the skill. The efficiency was naturally greater than Authority. It also came with a minor resistance towards the element. If Iona got [Ice Mastery], she probably wouldn’t feel the cold until it got cold.

I had no idea how [Earth Mastery] would work on a high-speed rock, but I suspected that was the minor aspect of the protection.

Spirit was the final tier. A perfect connection, dramatically improved efficiency, a strong sense of the element, and the most powerful skills. Being able to turn into the element was one of the better-known skills that required spirit, but it wasn’t the only one.

The nice thing about improved efficiency is it pseudo-multiplied my magic stats. If I was getting triple the oomph out of each point of mana, it was like my mana pool was three times as large, like my regeneration was three times as strong, and my larger skills looked like I had three times as much magic power supporting them.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Reading]!]

Reading: You saw the name of the class, right? Read faster. Comprehend more. Let the visions that the book takes you down become richer and more vibrant. Always know where you left off. Always able to open a known book to the right page. Read in the dark. Read better.

The keystone skill for the class, it was exactly what the class wanted to do, just like my healing class wanted [Dance with the Heavens]. A pity there wasn’t an experience boost or anything.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Lair]!]

Lair: What good is a Bookwyrm without her own personal lair to devour books in? Small pocket dimension for reading. Can only store books and limited furniture. Space increased per level. 160,000 mana per cast.

HOLY SHIT WHAT THE FUCK. This was more like it! A personal pocket dimension!? Just for reading!? I had never heard of anyone having a personal pocket dimension. I suspected Acquisition had extra-large loot bags, but this was in a literal realm of its own.

The draconic theme of the class was starting to rear its head.

And that mana cost!! 160,000 mana per cast?? I only had 25,000 magic power! At 300 magic power per level, I’d need another 450 levels just to cast the skill!

[Channel] jumped to the top of my list for a general skill that I needed to acquire.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Bookwyrm’s Hoard]!]

Bookwyrm’s Hoard: Every bookwyrm needs a collection of the most precious books, safely stored away and immediately available. Book spatial storage. Increased collection size per level. Mana cost scales on book size.

My mind instantly jumped to spellbooks. Unless something about the skill was wonky, I could grab and store my spellbooks, spells already inscribed and ready to go, arcanite in them and everything, and have every single one at my fingertips at all times. With [Reading], I’d also be able to instantly open the spellbook to the right page.

And that was before I considered having books to read at any time, any place! If I ended up in a similar life to when I was a Ranger or Sentinel, I’d always have books to read, without needing to cart them around!

For the sake of completeness, I should see if I could store non-books in there, and see when something counted as a book. Could I slice a mango up finely, carve some words into the flesh, and store it in my hoard?

I was also a little concerned about the mana cost line. [Lair] was absurdly expensive, and I knew as a rule Spatial was the second-most expensive element, right after Storm.

Thinking about storing different objects made me realize a flaw with [Lair]. It didn’t say anything about other people. I doubted I could get Auri or Iona to join me in the [Lair].

This called for experimentation! Right after I finished seeing the rest of my skills.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Beneath the Dragon’s Eyes]!]

Beneath the Dragon’s Eyes: You’ve snuck around a dragon’s lair under her watchful eyes, trying desperately to read the contents of the books in her library, unable to touch or move them around to read the contents. No more! Now you can read the pages of a closed book! Forbidden archive? Secret library floor? Magical encryption? As long as you can see the book – and understand the language – you can read it!

That… huh. It was a skill. The practical use seemed limited for such a grandiose name. I quickly checked ahead, but no. I’d only gotten offered 8 skills.

I did wonder if [Beneath the Dragon’s Eyes] worked with [The World Around Me]. Something to test!

The skill jumped to the top of my list of ‘replace or evolve’. Maybe I could merge it into [Reading]! The two seemed like they had enough overlap.

These were the initial skills on a level 8 class, nevermind the purple draconic quality to the class. I’d need to work to develop the skills, just like I’d needed to work on my other classes.

Although… maybe I wasn’t giving ‘break magical encryption’ enough credit as a line. I hadn’t done a ton of digging into the subject. I believed knowledge should be freely available, and disdained the idea of locking or encrypting my notes, nor did I have the right mindset and inclination to try and break encryptions. For all I knew, someone would kill to have a skill like this.

I’d have to see.

[*ding!* [Bookwyrm] has leveled up! 8 -> 9. +40 Vitality, +40 Speed, +100 Mana, +100 Mana Regeneration, +300 Magic Power, +300 Magic Control from your class! +1 Mana, +1 Magic Power from your element! +1 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +1 Speed, +1 Vitality, +1 Mana, +1 Mana Regeneration, +1 Magic Power, +1 Magic Control for being Chimera (Elvenoid)!]

Ooooh, I leveled! I briefly wondered if it was because I was reading the text of my new skills – a classic [Bookwyrm] activity – or if Auri was doing something phoenix-like, and I was getting experience funneled from her.

I was fairly certain she got experience just by living. It was unfair!

Wait, hang on. Something was weird.

Chimera (Elvenoid)!?

I pulled up my status.

[Name: Elaine]

[Race: Chimera (Elvenoid)]

[Age: 25]

Welp. I was pretty sure most biomancers had screwed with this race, but I was going to stay real quiet about it. The School officially didn’t like chimeras, and I wasn’t going to go around waving it in people’s faces. Not when literally the only person who could find out was Iona.

She was bound to do the honorable thing. I didn’t think tattling on me would qualify.

I’d be offended if I wasn’t getting a bunch more stats, and if it wasn’t true. Basically the only thing human about me was my skin, brain, and body shape – which didn’t really count. A pleasant surprise, and not one I was going to complain about.

A quick math check showed that the change wasn’t retroactive. Drat! I’d known that was the case, but I’d somewhat hoped to be the exception.

[*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Dream Reading]!]

Dream Reading: Why waste all that time sleeping on nightmares and other unproductive activities? Read books from your [Bookwyrm’s Hoard] while sleeping instead, and wake up fully rested! You can even turn your dreamscape into the scene of the book you’re reading!

I leaped out of my bed and whooped for joy.

“Dream reading!? No more nightmares!? It gets to look like a fully immersive mirage show while I’m there!?”

Bloody hell, I took back every mean thing I said about [Beneath the Dragon’s Eyes]. This class was amazing.

[*ding!* [Immortal Recollections] has evolved into [Astral Archives]!]

Astral Archives: Your perfect memories are like books, able to be rearranged and reordered at will. Archive memories for later, and hold open the knowledge you want directly at the forefront of your mind! Improved granularity, control, and open books at once per level.

This one needed work. Also, I was a little bummed that my high level [Immortal Recollections] got nerfed into a level 8 skill. Granted, [Immortal Recollections] leveling up never did much for me.

[*ding!* [Passionate Learning] has evolved into [Hunger for Knowledge]!]

Hunger for Knowledge: You are the fierce bookwyrm, and no morsel of knowledge, no little treat of a treatise, no little bit of information is left unread and unlearned in your presence. You devour knowledge like others devour food. There are no lengths you will not go to find something out. Fortunately, you’ve generally kept your search benign, and only vivisected a few people. 2% increased experience per level.

Gods curse them all.

[Passionate Learning] was one of my most powerful skills, the engine that kept everything else going. I’d just lost almost 450 levels of it, and at 1.25% per level, it was doing serious work for everything else. It was the reason I leveled quickly – relatively speaking – and it was a huge contributor to Auri catching up with my level. My experience had been getting multiplied, then shunted over to Auri.

Now it was back down to level 9. Sure, it’d level fast as [Bookwyrm] leveled up, and it now got a nice boost from [Sentinel’s Superiority], but ouch.

I decided to run some calculations. I used to have a 562.5% experience boost. I was now getting a 2.5% experience boost per level. [Sentinel’s Superiority] was one heck of a skill. That made the math easy – the boost was now twice as strong. Level 225 would be when I started to see real benefits, and the first 200 levels were…

Nope, not going to say it. Wasn’t even going to think it.

I looked over my skills and accepted them all. 8 skills, 8 skill slots, sometimes it was easy.

Shame I didn’t have a skill that helped me reach books on the highest shelf! Besides the very flashy “just fly up there”.

That sounded like a fun skill to try and acquire. Just look at a book, think about it, and snap! Teleport it into my hands.

Oh. Hmm. [Blink] and [Teleport] were the most famous Spatial skills. While I was at the School, it was probably worth taking a class dedicated to getting those skills.

Time to experiment with my skills, and get a feel for how they worked.

I glanced at one of the books strewn around the room, my eyes landing on one of the bodice-rippers Iona and I enjoyed reading together. I thought about it, and I could immediately see through the cover, able to jump to whatever page I wanted.

I thought about one… particular… scene, and it was like my eyes zoomed, the pages ‘flipping’ through while the book remained closed, and I could read them like the book was open in front of me.

She panted with exertion as…

[*ding!* [Reading] leveled up! 1 -> 2]

[*ding!* [Beneath the Dragon’s Eyes] leveled up! 1 -> 2]

[*ding!* [Spatial Affinity] leveled up! 1 -> 2]

That was even easier than usual!

I didn’t have the meta-skill or the power needed to cast [Lair]. I’d have to try it out another day.

Actually, hang on, it’d be silly if a skill didn’t let me cast it at all.

I focused on the skill, trying to activate it. I kept an eye on my mana, noting it was staying the same.

… I guess the System was silly at times.

The last test was [The World Around Me]. I closed my eyes and got close to a book, then tried to read it.

Yup, it worked. Heck, it was almost easier to read with [The World Around Me] than with my eyes!

[Bookwyrm’s Hoard] was next for testing, and I got up and grabbed the book I’d been looking at earlier. I then realized I wasn’t experimenting well, put the book down on the bed, and walked to the door of my room. I focused on the book and the skill, willing it to move into my [Hoard].

Predictably, nothing happened.

I slowly walked towards the book, focusing on my skill the entire time. Only when I was touching the book did it vanish with a faint pop.

[*ding!* [Bookwyrm’s Hoard] leveled up! 1 -> 2]

Right then! The skill was touch-based. It had used a worrying amount of mana for a simple book, almost 8000 points worth.

Probably. I had just leveled up.

[*ding!* [Spatial Affinity] leveled up! 2 -> 3]

I experimented with a second book, but once again it only vanished with a faint pop after I touched it. It was about twice as heavy, having a fat cover, and it took about twice as much mana to vanish.

[*ding!* [Spatial Affinity] leveled up! 3 -> 4]

I then held my hands out, and focused on summoning the book back. It appeared in my hands, but I noticed it had cost less to return than it had to store. Possibly an effect of the massively disproportionate role Affinity had at low levels.

I felt a wild grin split my face, and I pumped my free fist.

[*ding!* [Bookwyrm’s Hoard] leveled up! 2 -> 3]

This was so much fun!!! Books on demand! I could carry everything I wanted to read on me at all times! This magic was bloody amazing! Spatial had been the right call, and seeing what it could do, well…

Okay, fine. I probably would flip out just as much over Mirror making clones of myself, Brilliance letting me make anything I wanted out of hard light, Gravity letting me float and have [Telekinesis]… magic was just too damn cool.

I needed to check if I could put scrolls into my [Bookwyrm’s Hoard], along with notebooks, journals, loose papers, and everything else that might be a book.

There were a lot of arguments in both directions on each one of those items. If nothing else, expanding the skill to include those items was on my list. They were close to what the skill already did, and small ‘nudges’ were easier.

If the rumors were to be believed, it would be extra-easy on the island. [Students] claimed, one generation to the next, that the island made it easier to learn skills.

I personally believed it was the fantastic environment the School cultivated.

I’d need to sleep to explore [Dream Reading], but I could check out [Astral Archives] now. I thought about my memories, and it was like I was in a library, and I knew where everything was.

On a lark, I picked Operation: The Improved Elaine to see what would happen. I mentally took the book off the shelf, and realized I was being silly.

This was my mind. I was a Spatial… hang on, what was [Bookwyrm] tagged as? Mage? Artisan? Laborer? Probably laborer. Anyways, I was a Spatial person now.

I mentally teleported the book to my mental hands, and opened it.

Knowledge flooded my mind. I knew in every single detail what changes I’d done to my body, and why. I had the complete image in my mind, just like that, no effort.

I quickly tied [Dance with the Heavens] off with that image to my [Persistent Casting], marveling at how easy it was. No need to spend hours going over everything!

I’d need to work on it more with… hang on.

I dismissed the [Persistent Casting], and brought up a second book, the memory of the first time I’d ever built my [Persistent Casting] permanent heal, with Ocean on my very first Sentinel mission.

The knowledge flooded my mind, but I clearly could only hold the two ‘books’ at once.

It didn’t matter. I expertly “stitched” the two together, turning it into my new perfect heal.

It had taken me minutes.

Doing this properly used to take hours, almost days.

I was already in love with my new class.

I closed my eyes to exit the room, letting [The World Around Me] tell me exactly where everything and everyone was. I wasn’t sure, but I hoped that cutting off my other senses and using the sphere of awareness that [The World Around Me] granted would level it up faster.

That, and it was just good practice. I wouldn’t always be able to conjure up light, mainly if I was doing something like sneaking around. [The World Around Me] was also based on my senses, but it didn’t require them to be active if that made sense. It was just as good with my eyes closed as open, because magic was weird like that.

“Hey [Bookwyrm]! Welcome back!” Iona didn’t look up from her sketch as she greeted me.

“Brrrpt!” Auri was standing perfectly still as Iona drew her. She did conjure up a little [Mage Hand] and gave me a cheerful wave with it.

Honestly, the two were a match made in the divine realm. Iona loved drawing people, places, and things, and Auri was a great subject. Auri, on the other hand, was the vainest little bird I’d ever met, and people to draw and adore her?

Perfection.

I sat down on the sofa, a pair of mangos freshly sliced on a plate in front of me. A minor congratulatory snack, since ‘you’ve already gotten your third class before’.

Fair enough, I supposed. I started stuffing the slices into my mouth, practically moaning in bliss as the luscious flavor burst in my mouth.

In this moment, I’d do anything for Iona and Auri, my two mango hookups.

“Brrrpt?” Auri asked. I swear the little scamp waited for me to have my mouth full before asking a question.

“Oh, the skills are great! Let me tell you all about them.” I explained my new skills to a rapt audience.

At the end, Iona stopped sketching and looked at me with her mouth open, her quill pointing at me accusingly. She was outraged as she spoke.

“Your class wants to read. You have [Reading], [Dream Reading], and [Hunger for Knowledge]. You are literally going to be leveling up in your sleep!”

[Name: Elaine]

[Race: Chimera (Elvenoid)]

[Age: 25]

[Mana: 610,990/610,990]

[Mana Regen: 297,721 (+613,971)]

Stats

[Free Stats: 248]

[Strength: 1,356]

[Dexterity: 2,134]

[Vitality: 17,320]

[Speed: 17,352]

[Mana: 61,099]

[Mana Regeneration: 61,244 (+61,397)]

[Magic Power: 25,516 (+654,485)]

[Magic Control: 25,516 (+654,485)]

[Class 1: [The Dawn Sentinel – Celestial: Lv 513]]

[Celestial Affinity: 513]

[Cosmic Presence: 322]

[The Stars Never Fade: 11]

[Center of the Universe: 471]

[Dance with the Heavens: 513]

[Wheel of Sun and Moon: 513]

[Mantle of the Stars: 492]

[Sunrise: 470]

[Class 2: [Butterfly Mystic – Radiance: Lv 401]]

[Radiance Affinity: 401]

[Radiance Resistance: 401]

[Nova Lance: 401]

[Lepidoptera: 160]

[Nectar: 401]

[Solar Corona: 401]

[Scintillating Ascent: 401]

[Kaleidoscope: 401]

[Class 3: [Bookwyrm – Spatial: Lv 9]]

[Spatial Affinity: 4]

[Reading: 2]

[Lair: 1]

[Bookwyrm’s Hoard: 3]

[Beneath the Dragon’s Eyes: 2]

[Dream Reading: 1]

[Astral Archives: 9]

[Hunger for Knowledge: 9]

General Skills

[Long-Range Identify: 380]

[: ]

[Companion Bond between Elaine and Auri: 256]

[The World Around Me: 21]

[Oath of Elaine to Lyra: 513]

[Sentinel’s Superiority: 513]

[Persistent Casting: 431]

[: ]

Elaine’s skills explained:

Cosmic Presence: A powerful and large healing aura, it dramatically speeds up natural healing. Bruises vanish in minutes instead of weeks.

The Stars Never Fade: Can rewind time on a person, making them young – and Immortal.

Center of the Universe: Anti-pain skill. Still can feel things happening, but it doesn’t hurt.

Dance with the Heavens: Panacea healing skill. The main skill of the class.

Wheel of Sun and Moon: Support skill for Dance with the Heavens. Lets it be ranged when Elaine is in sunlight or moonlight.

Mantle of the Stars: Shield skill. Lets Elaine conjure a starry barrier. It’s slightly flexible and can move a bit.

Sunrise: Energy skill. Let’s Elaine keep on going and going and going.

Nova Lance: Powerful Radiance beam attack.

Lepidoptera: Ability to make runes and cast spells with them. The keystone wizardry skill.

Nectar: Passive mana regeneration ability.

Solar Corona: Radiance support skill. Dramatic DPS buff to Nova Lance and Kaleidoscope.

Scintillating Ascent: Flying skill.

Kaleidoscope: Summons swarms of explosive butterflies.

Long-Range Identify: Checks level and class abstraction from a distance.

The World Around Me: A ‘sphere of awareness’ for what’s around Elaine.

Oath of Elaine to Lyra: Elaine’s Oath to heal others.

Sentinel’s Superiority: Buff to all class skills, and combat/fighting prowess.

Persistent Casting: Lets Elaine constantly channel skills without needing to think about or focus on them.

Companion Bond Between Elaine and Auri: Elaine and Auri’s bond, represented as a skill. Gives Elaine immunity to fire, faster thinking speed, the ability to heal Auri, and increased vanity.