Tristan
October 14, 1786, Realm Timeline, the road to Pajštún Castle, The Slovakian Protectorate
The spear, hung on his back, was a marvel, and Tristan could not help but look forward to using it in battle. A slot and a small lever allowed the dagger to be placed atop the black metallic staff and be removed easily, yet not so easily that it would fall apart by itself. It was not too long, allowing Tristan to use it on foot, yet not too short either, so he could use it on horseback as well. All the work was done in a couple of hours, and then disaster struck. Tristan had no money to pay the weaponsmith, a detail he had forgotten.
When Eliza arrived in the late afternoon, she paid the man, after much haggling, which Tristan found embarrassing. He promised to pay her back every copper. Or penny, how the Outworlders called their small change.
They were now heading north, riding on rented horses, taking on a quest delivered by the local constables, because Eliza had decided to 'test some things and maybe level up', in her words.
The quest was about a rowdy gang that terrorized the nearby village. Just thinking about it made Tristan's blood boil. Nothing was worse than renegade soldiers of fortune. They looted and killed for fun, destroying everything in their wake.
Eliza cleared her throat, and Tristan understood he had to pay attention. He did that by slightly turning his torso toward her.
"Since we're on the road, we have time to talk about stats, which are a numeric representation of your abilities to use Mana," Eliza said. "A value of ten in any of them is supposed to represent the average human being. However..."
"Yes?"
"We're in uncharted territory. We know how the System is supposed to work, but we're not really sure it will perform as expected. Magic might interfere with a mind of its own."
"Magic has no mind of its own; that's blasphemy," Tristan said. "The Pope said so, at the council of—
"It does have a Zeitgeist," Eliza said.
"Sorry?"
"A memory of how skills work. Magic leaves an imprint in the Realm's Mana Field. Look, let me give you an example. When this Interface was built, information was fed to it. How a class should perform. For Vampire, we tried to... err... take out the nasty stuff, like being undead, or burnt by light, you know."
"What?"
"Just bear with me. On the other hand, we insisted on shapeshifting, like turning into a bat and flying. Well... it didn't work. The information itself refused to be written into the nanites. Thus, the conclusion was that Mana stores data... information about real magic skills, and they take precedence over what we think they should be."
"It's the natural order. Trees and people also have the memory of how they grow ingrained in their bodies."
"The point is we don't know how the System will behave. Will the stat number be the same, or will it depend on the class and the individual? Sorry, I digressed; we were talking stats. The Interface, or the System, call it how you want, comes with a reserve of three hundred charges of those nanites, called attribute points. It delivers three of them per level. Level being... Pff... This is hard. When the System thinks you advanced enough, mainly by doing dangerous things, it delivers those points. They can be invested in any stat, and those will grow instantly instead of waiting to be trained."
"I fear I don't comprehend the full extent of this whole thing," Tristan lowered his head.
"No problem, I'll handle your stats for now. I'll ask you a question; answer 'yes'. Allow Eliza Admin access to settings?"
"Y-yes?"
"Great! Let's play."
Eliza rubbed her hands, a predatory grin on her face, which sent a shiver down Tristan's spine. As she rode near him, the flowing black overcoat wrapped around her made her look like a giant bat from the Vampire legends.
"Question: Do you want to keep your stats named Body, Mind, and Spirit, or change to Physical, Mental, and Ma—"
"They're fine as is, gracious mistress."
"Okay... Ah, one more thing. So far as Sam says, but he's right more often than not, stats allegedly influence each other. Let's say you've grown your Strength. That means more power, but also more muscle density, which reflects in Constitution. Chances are that when you invest in a stat, others will improve too. Sam calls it the ripple effect. Now, let's see... Oh, shoot. Yes, of course I want Tristan to see his stats too."
A row of blue words appeared in front of Tristan's eyes, rolling slowly.
Displaying new stats, according to the Interface's evaluation:
Body
Strength: 19
Constitution: 18
Endurance: 29
Dexterity: 26
Agility: 27
Speed: 19
"Let me explain the Body stats to you," Eliza said.
"It's pretty clear."
"Indulge me. Strength, yes, it's obvious. Constitution is how much damage you can take, how fast you regenerate, and your resistances. They might show up in detail, or not. This is not a video game, so there's no such thing as total immunity. Endurance is how well you cope with pain, prolonged effort, and so on. Dexterity is finesse. Hitting a precise spot, putting a thread through a needle. Agility: your acceleration, reaction times, and ability to change direction. Speed is how fast you move your body. Do you notice anything?"
"They're related?"
"Clever boy. Yes, they are. It's good not to fall too far apart. Sam says Constitution and Endurance are the main priorities. You can still shoot a gun with low strength; you can't shoot it if you're dead. Now, let's see the Mind," she said, scrolling down.
Mind
Intelligence: 12 (-2)
Wisdom: 9 (-2)
Perception: 16 (-2)
Knowledge: 7 (-2)
Focus: 9 (-2)
Willpower: 24 (-2)
"Hm… not great… You have a debuff. Willpower is high, which helps with Endurance, but you might just be stubborn. Are you, Tristan?"
"Stubborn, milady?"
"Yes."
"Yes, when it comes to duty and honor, no, for the rest."
"Don't play cute with me. We'll see. So. Intelligence is how well you process information. Wisdom is the depth of your understanding of the information you process. Perception—"
"How well do I notice things?"
"Yes. We hope that, with high Perception, a skill called Identify or Inspect will appear."
"What does it do?"
"We'll just look at something, or somebody, and know information about their strengths or weak spots. Why are you rolling your eyes?"
"Sorry, gracious mistress, but this is preposterous."
"Why?"
"How could you tell which one of our horses is a steed or a mare, if you don't know the difference beforehand?"
"Deduction, Watson, deduction."
"Sorry?"
"Your horse lacks balls; therefore, it's a mare; therefore, mine is a steed."
"They're both gelded."
"What's gelded?"
"A steed, but you cut their balls."
"Nooooo!" Eliza screamed. "Why would you do that to a horse? That's horrible!"
"'Cause they throw you away and run for the closest mare in heat."
"It's barbaric."
"If you say so, mistress Eliza," Tristan raised his eyes heavenward. Outworlders are really strange…
"There's only one more Mental stat to talk about: Focus. It's the ability to concentrate on one or more tasks. I wonder how you can fight with such low Focus."
"I don't focus on anything when I fight, gracious mistress. It just comes by itself. If I focus, it's too late."
"Hm… Never mind. And here we are to the Spirit. Let's see…"
Spirit
Arcane Power: 10
Blood Potency: 10
Mana Affinity: 10
Mana Capacity: 10
Soul Resonance: 19
Humanity: 18*
* This stat is an insurance against abusing your powers. It will inflict various debuffs if it goes below 20, increasing the debuffs exponentially if you go lower than 10.
You have 12 Free Attribute Points to invest.
"The first is the power of your magic skills, and the second, of your Vampire skills. Their damage should add up. Mana affinity reflects the attunement to normal Mana. Mana Capacity is, of course, about how much magic energy you have. There are no Health or Mana pools; I may have mentioned it before. This is not a game. You got a bullet in your brain, that's it… You follow?"
"Uh-huh," Tristan said, pretending he was understanding what she was talking about, which he did not.
"Soul Resonance… beats me. I really don't know. Humanity is a failsafe against the abuse of our powers. It seems it debuffs your mind."
"It's Oh, Key. I don't feel much different since I became a thrall."
"I don't think it's because you were turned... Maybe you like killing too much?"
"I don't like killing," Tristan protested. "I just don't mind doing it. It must be because I missed last Sunday's mass."
The woman snorted. Tristan giggled; she sounded like a pony. She didn't seem to appreciate his amusement, because she frowned.
"Gracious mistress, what's your Humanity score?" Tristan asked. If he, an honest God-fearing Christian, was at eighteen, a Vampire was sure to have a negative one. Which was, in a way, scary and appalling, but at the same time, awe-inspiring.
Eliza snorted again. "I have plus twenty-seven humanity. I'm one of the nicest people I've ever met."
"May I ask something, gracious mistress?"
"Yes, Tristan..." Eliza sighed. "By the way, repeating 'gracious mistress' every other second makes you sound like a kindergarten kid."
"A garden kid?"
"It's a school for very young kids. First occasion, I'll find you a dictionary with terms we Outworlders use."
"Thank you, Mistress Eliza. Do you know how high stats can go?"
"I don't think there's a limit, but increasing them might become harder as they go up. That's why the free attribute points are priceless. Also, the cap level only means you've exhausted the free attribute points. Growth can continue, only... We'll see. I'll put some points into your Strength, Constitution, and Speed, so they get to twenty. I don't want to put points into your Mind stats until I understand that debuff first. I'm leaving eight APs in reserve for you, just in case. Now, let's pick a new skill for you. You have a choice between—"
"May I ask what your skills are?"
"You may not. A lady has her secrets. Listen!"
"What?" Tristan asked, turning his head quickly to locate any unusual noise.
"I meant, listen to my words. Some people would see you as cannon fodder. A minion to send on suicide missions. I'm not one of them. I might be a sucker, but—"
"You're a prostitute?" Tristan slackjawed. But... she's not pretty at all... And she's MARRIED!
She leaned forward, trying to slap him, but Tristan reflexively leaned back, making her miss.
"It means naive, you idiot! I will protect you, but you must trust me and obey my orders to the letter."
"S-sure?"
"Keep that in mind. Now... You had several skills to choose from, but I selected Mana Bleed because the rest are normal physical perks, and this is a Rare. The description says: If the target has magic, whenever you inflict Bleeding on them, they'll also lose Mana."
"We can test it on the bandits."
"No, we won't! This bounty explicitly forbids the use of lethal force. You will stay with the horses, while I'll sneak into the bandits' den and capture their leader."
"But, Milady Eliza, the leaflet said the leader is very dangerous. How will you—"
"Look, Tristan," the woman sighed. "I've done this before. You must trust me, remember?"
"But you said we're doing this for experience and levels. How do we earn exes and pys if we don't... err... kill anyone?"
"XP, like in the letters, not exes and pys. Short for experience. Magic, Sam's theory, reacts when people do exceptional things of any kind and push their limits. I got a lot of XP just from taking the Empress over the river. I didn't notice much difference between that and the XP I got from you."
"From me?"
"As your master, I'm taking a share of your experience. I set it at eighteen percent, by the way. Like the taxes."
Tristan nodded. He was aware that the Outworlder asked for taxes on anything. Experience, apparently, was no different.
"Now, let's hurry up. Follow the script, and all will be okay."
"Oh, kay!" Tristan nodded, giving Eliza a thumbs-up.
Eliza
The boy's permanent befuddlement was endearing to the point that she often felt the need to treat him like a child. Ruffle his hair and make sure he eats his veggies. Despite knowing his real age, Eliza couldn't think of him as an adult. His looks were those of a fifteen-or sixteen-year-old, and he was cute, on top of that.
Maybe I feel like this because I don't have children yet... As soon as Sam realizes he made the wrong choice and begs for my forgiveness, we'll go for twins. I'll name them Mariah and Michael.
Some aspects of the System didn't make sense, so she opened a log, using the Journal app that came with the System.
'14 October 1786, Realm Timeline.
I couldn't help but notice some inconsistencies with the System's stats.
My Thrall has very low Knowledge and Focus, despite showing considerable practical expertise and combat prowess.
Hypothesis: The System is Outworlder tech. Is it corrupted by our own bias? Does it understand knowledge only as mathematical abilities or culture trivia? Will my thrall's stats increase if I subject him to games and anime?
Note: To check Tristan's Knowledge after he reads the Outworlder common expression booklet. I have to find one ASAP.
My Thrall has low Humanity, but he doesn't seem any worse than the average guy.
Hypothesis: Again, bias? Might it be because he considers slavery or autocratic rule normal?
Note: Follow his evolution.
Skills that are common in games or LitRPG, like Inspect, do not make much sense. How can you find out things that are not obvious? Will the System's heuristic code be enough?
Hypothesis: For an Inspect skill to work, one needs a database. Maybe it could work by accessing the database in the Realm's Mana field? This is TBD.
The System does seem to reward taking risks and real fighting. Albeit my Thrall is lower in level than I, he gained a second skill, while I did not.
Note: Tonight, I will test how much experience is gained by achieving a goal without resorting to violence. I took on a bounty regarding a nearby mercenary group. Task: infiltrate the den and kidnap the leader by drugging him.
Sighing, Eliza closed the Journal and opened her Character Sheet, inspecting her stats, and opting to name her stats categories Physical, Mental, and Magical. She was level five, only one above Tristan. Sam, the lucky bastard, was seven.
Physical
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 35
Constitution: 9 (-9)*
Agility: 35
Endurance: 9 (-9)*
Speed: 18
* Unidentified Debuff present.
The debuff was anything but unknown. It was the sickness that led Eliza to leave Earth behind. Uncurable, back home, stabilized on the Realm, but yet not fully healed, even after getting the System.
Disappointing… Anyway…
Mental
Intelligence: 22
Wisdom: 18
Perception: 14
Knowledge: 18
Focus: 22
Willpower: 29
Magical
Arcane Power: 10
Blood Potency: 10
Mana Affinity: 10
Mana Capacity: 10
Soul Resonance: 10
Humanity: 27 *
* This stat is an insurance against abusing your powers. It will inflict various debuffs if it goes below 20, increasing the debuffs exponentially if you go lower than 10.
You have 15 Free Attribute Points to invest.
OK, let's be done with it. I'll put three points in each Magical stat, except for Humanity. I wonder when I will be able to create a second thrall... Guess we'll wait and see... Fuck, I'm winded out...
There was no point in reviewing her skills. Any obvious physical skills, like proficiency with daggers or dancing, were not shown unless some extra ability appeared, like Tristan's mana Bleed. Thus, she had only three skills mentioned in the Menu: Lightstep—which she had even before getting the System, when she was a Third Order—Turn, and Shimmerwalk. The first skill was on because riding was not her forte, and it cushioned her body, helping her move faster and silently over any surface. It also drained her Mana, which she wasn't even sure how much she had.
Their objective, a castle, was situated between two villages, one to the west and one to the south. The road between the village to the west and the castle was destroyed. On that road, a disciplined Austrian army attempting to take the stronghold before continuing to Pressburg had encountered the concept of land mines, and the mines had made a lasting impression. That battle had convinced the Imperials that peace was preferable to war, and just in time; the Outworlders' logistics were running on fumes.
As a reward, the mercenaries who stopped the assault received the castle. A bit feudal for Eliza's liking, but practical. However, maybe from boredom, or to make an extra buck, they had soon transformed their new estate into a gambling den. Thus, scandals and the complaint that had led to the bounty.
In the southern village, a funicular going to the castle had been built, powered by an electric generator. It burned wood, and the smoke was visible even at that hour, darker than the night. The cabin made a terrible noise, rusted metal rubbing against more rusted metal. It was surprising that it stayed together.
"Tie the horses and wait for me here," Eliza ordered, gesturing vaguely.
The streets were filled with carriages of all sorts and even cars, parked in no order whatsoever. In the aerial cabin, a few teenagers dressed in local fashion, minus the wigs, shared a bottle of vodka, evidently trying to get drunk before the party to save money. It was an expensive joint, if even the noblesse had trouble keeping up with the tab.
The landing was guarded by mercenaries with machine guns and equipped with a few metal detectors. Reluctantly, the teenagers placed the swords in a large bin. Eliza took off her raincoat, showing her ballerina attire. There were metal wires in her black tutu and her bra.
"You can pass," a guard said after checking the rest of the body for hidden weapons; fortunately, only with the detector.
"Stop!" an older mercenary with an eye patch said brusquely, making her skip a heartbeat. "Do I know you? I'm sure I saw you somewhere."
"Ballet soloist. Prague," Eliza curtsied.
"Oh, goodness! Yes. You were the black swan, before the war..."
"And after, for a while," she smiled.
"I'll come watch your performance," the man promised, kissing her hand.
Pulling her ballet shoes from her purse, Eliza nodded and entered the main building.