Chương 8: The Skill Trees Take Root

"I see you've overcome adversity," Goggs said, as he returned to the chapel and noticed Elias sitting in the corner with rat guts and illumination paste all over him.

"Congratulations, gladiator!" Goggs had a satchel around his shoulder that appeared to be full of all sorts of mushrooms and ferns. He set it down and, after rifling in a drawer, threw Elias a rag.

"Those were not … the kind of rats I'm used to," Elias said, doing his best to clean himself off.

"They had some kind of weird infatuation with permits and codes."

"Bureau-rats are extra nasty. But on the plus side, it is quest complete." As Goggs said this, the disembodied voice came to life with a whole litany of information: # Your reputation in Cinderleaf has increased! # You have gained experience! # Reputation level increased! You have advanced from a Worm to a Lummlet. #"I keep hearing about this Lummlet," Elias said, scratching his head.

"Not a species I'm familiar with and no one has explained exactly what it is." Goggs laughed. He moved around the chapel putting things in order and stowing things here and there.

"A lummlet is a hairless, armless, legless ball of flesh. No teeth or claws or natural defenses. They roll around on the jungle floor just waiting to be eaten by something. Once they get pooped out, a dozen new lummlets get formed. Don't ask me how it works, but they are sort of like … fruit. You know, if fruit was made for carnivores."

"Fascinating," Elias said.

"Well, I suppose it does sound slightly better than a worm."

"Not much, but it is certainly a start. Oh, I also have these for you, since you are an alchemist and all, I figure you could use them," Goggs replied, tossing a few mushrooms his way. # You have identified Fleetcap Mushroom # Elias was delighted. His identification skill was working without him even thinking about it. Although it was still too basic to be much help.

"Fleetcap …" he said.

"Yeah," Goggs replied.

"I'm sure when you get to an alchemy station you can do lots of cool stuff with those, but for now, consider them a sort of get out of jail free card. You can just eat one raw. You might feel a little queasy for a moment or two, but then you'll run and jump like an Olympic athlete. I'm kind of … addicted to the things, to be honest. But you know, when you are dead and filled with a world full of hostile monsters, performance enhancing drugs kind of lose their taboo, you feel me?"

"I do feel you," Elias said, sniffing one of the mushrooms.

"By the way … I gained a level while I was down in the basement smashing those pedantic rodents. Mind helping me level up?"

"Hell yeah, brother. You have to make some decisions. Decisions that I can't make for you. Why don't you pop open your character sheet. You have to activate your level ups. After that, they will interrupt you no matter what you are doing." # Elias Thorne Level 3 Alchemist Level 1 Druid HP: 80/80 Mana: 60/60 Equipment: Worn Satchel, Engraved Pestle, Basic Staff. Inventory: 3x Fleetcap Mushrooms Druid Class Skills: Regeneration I. Alchemist Class Skills: Foraging I. Plant Identification I. Potion Brewing I.

Reputation: Lummlet # Hidden Perks revealed: Animal speaking # YOU HAVE LEVELED UP. ONLY YOUR FIRST LEVEL UP ISN'T AUTOMATIC. FURTHER LEVEL UPS WILL NEED TO TAKE PLACE IMMEDIATELY. FOCUS HERE TO ALLOCATE SKILL POINTS # Elias wasn't quite ready for what happened when he followed those last instructions. With a brief second of focus, the world faded away and was replaced by an arboreal vision.

He could still hear Goggs, which told him he hadn't been transported anywhere, but Elias' whole field of view was blocked by two giant trees which had suddenly grown up out of the stones that made up the chapel floor. On the left was what looked like one of the giant jungle trees that he had encountered in the park. Only this one had its branches replaced with words. In fact, it was made up of more words than trees. The word DRUID made up the trunk.

Exploring it with his eyes, Elias realized that each of its forking branches was the name of some skill. Craning up to see the twigs and leaves, he realized were literally thousands of possible branching paths. Most of these were obscured by symbols that looked much like the lock Elias had used on his gym locker back in high school. In fact, the more he looked around, the more he realized that most of the forking paths were locked. This book is hosted on another platform.

Read the official version and support the author's work. Then, he looked at the other tree. This one was much more scaly and peppered with mushrooms growing out of its bark. Also, a sort of fog seemed to hover around it. Some of its branches seemed, well, oily. ALCHEMY said the trunk of this tree. Goggs' voice interrupted his awe for a moment.

"You can put another level into druid, or put one into your crafting class. You should have a few big branches coming off of the trunk of each that you can read. Those are your choices at this point. If you focus on one, you should be able to get more information." The amount of information was overwhelming, but it seemed like Goggs was correct. Elias tried to focus on the four or five big branches coming out of the DRUID tree.

One of these branches, which said Regeneration, was lit up and some of the smaller limbs that came off of it were actually unlocked. He quickly took a mental catalog of all of the details. Breaking it down, the main druid trunk had six big branches: # Regeneration I Spirit Animal I Nature's Armor I Snare I Lightning I Blight I # Regeneration had four more branches that he could see, as it had been unlocked by default.

Heal Disease Heal Poison Heal Blight Regeneration II # So, he supposed he did have some choices to make. And then there was the second tree to consider as well. The alchemical tree. Those branches looked something like this: # Foraging I. Bounty of the forest out of Season Foraging II Plant Identification I. Plant Identification II Mycelial Mapping Potion Brewing I.

Poisons I Explosions I Elixirs I Chaos I Cultivation I # He decided to take a closer look at some of the skills that interested him # Spirit Animal I - Summons a beast from the realm of spirits to watch your back. The beast is a level five + (1. 5 times your druid level) warrior with no spells or abilities except for taunt. Specific creature summoned depends on reagents used. Note: reagents are required to complete the spell.

Snare - Summon forth a cluster of spiritual grasping brambles to massively slow any enemy, giving you a head start in an escape or helping you pursue a fleet quarry. # Heal Disease - Use magic to alleviate basic ailments. # Bounty of the Forest - Passive. When using your forage skills, your keen eye and intimacy with the wild allows you to collect double the amount of botanical goodness.

Mycelial Mapping - Tap into the underground network of spores to gather intelligence on your surroundings, and possibly gain access to more powerful abilities as you advance down this chain. # Chaos - Learn the Basic alchemical secrets of chaos. This gives you the ability and knowledge necessary to create potions with random but powerful characteristics. (Note: this branch may lead to unpredictable results). #"This is … a lot to think about," Elias said. He was mumbling, more to himself than to anyone else.

But Goggs' reply let him know that he was not alone.

"Want my advice? Don't go crazy. Stick with something simple."

"Hmm …" The more he thought about it, the more his eyes kept circling back to the Spirit Animal ability. Once again, the specifics of his life back on earth were already growing fainter, harder to remember. But there was at least one childhood image so burned into his consciousness that it still sat vivid in his mind. The family dog. An old Catahoula mutt they'd found in a ditch covered in mange, nursed back to health, and named Merlyn.

Both because of his merle coat and because, well, he seemed pretty magical to an eight year old boy without many friends. The mere thought of a dog brought such comfort to Elias in this crazy plane of existence where he found himself. He tried to imagine the joy he would feel having a scrappy mutt by his side in whatever battles lie ahead. Although the other skills seemed interesting, Mycelial mapping in particular, he found that his mind was already made up.

"Spirit Animal," he said. # You have gained a level and a skill! You are now a Level 2 druid and have gained the following spell skill: Spirit Animal I. #"Well done," said Goggs, as the giant trees that had been growing between them suddenly turned to vapor. Slowly, the smoke that had formed the limbs and twigs vanished, and all in the chapel was as it had been before.

"Probably the same thing I would have chosen. Freaking love animals," said Goggs, a glint of respect in his steely eyes.

"Well … let me see," said Elias. He tried to create the spell, but he already knew there was something missing from the description. # You need a reagent to cast this spell! #"A reagent," he said. Elias knew the term well.

"The textbook definition is a substance or chemical used in a reaction. But the voice didn't say what that might be."

"Well, I'd imagine it depends on what kind of a pet you are aiming for," said Goggs. Elias nodded.

"The only choice in a place like this is a dog. Nay, a wolf. The bigger and meaner the better, so long as he's bonded to me."

"A big wolf," Goggs mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Exactly."

"So your reagent probably needs to be a scrap of wolf fur. Maybe a whole pelt. A tooth. A skull. Some piece of a wolf, so to speak."

"It seems like you are suggesting that there are wolves in this world."

"Oh, there are definitely wolves in this world."

"Alright. If you could just point me in that direction then." He could see Goggs trying to stifle a laugh.

"What? What is funny?"

"Well, I don't want to be demotivating or anything like that. I know you just got a new level and you are progressing. But a feral fantasy pack? I don't think you'd be able to swing it on your own."

"A feral what? You know, never mind. Maybe you'd help me?"

"No can do, hombre. At least not right now. If you haven't noticed, I have a guild to run here. I have to keep the lights on." Elias looked around the room again. There were no lights aside from the oddly colored sunlight which was steaming in through the stained glass, maybe a few candles. What kind of bills could a place like this possibly have? Goggs seemed to read his thoughts.

"I have to keep the reputation up. Fulfill quests for other guilds. Well … for the Fireknights mostly. And I do have my own trial, as set forth in the quest hub. That's why I happened to be in the park in the first place to rescue you. I was turning in a few quests for echo coins." Elias felt a little dejected, but also determined to make use of his new ability.

"The quest board mentioned something about using my alchemy skill to gain these echo coins you speak of. Maybe I could do that and then buy a wolf tooth, something like that?" Goggs shrugged.

"I'm afraid that is a long way off, too. You don't even have alchemy bench. And as far as I know, there aren't any to be had in this village. Fire knights tend to keep upstart guilds out. And it is only established ones like this one that they allow to exist. And even then, it is only because I'm constantly buffing them and fulfilling their quests." The more Elias heard about these fire knights, the less he liked them.

"I guess I've taken up enough of your time then, Goggs. I sincerely appreciate all the help you've given me."

"Likewise," he said.

"Check back in a few days. I might have more work for you." As Elias was headed out the door, Goggs had some parting advice for him.

"If you do decide to go looking for wolves, and I wouldn't suggest it quite yet, But if you do … stop by the tavern and try to hire a warrior to help you. There are usually one or two in there during the day looking for work. I tell you what, here are some coins for taking care of our little rat problem." # You have gained 10 echo coins #"Good luck out there," he said.