Cat With a Raygun

Healing Touch (Level 1). This spell channels health restoration energy into a target by touch, or it can be directed towards the caster. At its current level this spell only restores missing hit points and closes wounds. Hit points restored equal to Intelligence of caster multiplied by the level of the spell.

Mana cost: 6 per casting

Joe liked this new spell of his. His intelligence was more than his total hit points, so a single casting brings him to full health. He noticed another notification pending and allowed it to populate.

Mana Channeling skill unlocked, +1 to Intelligence.

That reminded Joe of his skill unlocked earlier, Climbing. He never did remember to check it out. Hoping it was like the other screens, Joe willed his Skills menu to open.

Skills:

Reading 2

Climbing 1

Mana Channeling 1

I wonder if that Reading skill carried over from my old life?Odd that no other skills did, though. I can understand the physical ones, but surely my advanced math or engineering knowledge showed somewhere? Maybe it just isn't recognized by this CWEST system.

Even with the boosts to his Intelligence, Joe still had to wait a few minutes before he could cast Harvest on this new crab. Joe decided to use that time examining his skills.

Reading (Level 2). This skill is for reading and retaining knowledge. Higher skill levels allow the user to focus better when reading and will aid in recall of the information previously read. To advance this skill read more.

Key Attribute- Intelligence

Climbing (Level 1). This skill applies to climbing ropes, ladders, trees, walls, or other vertical or nearly vertical surfaces. Higher skill levels allow the user to find better hand and foot holds or apply better grip strength, as appropriate to the current method of climbing. To advance this skill climb more surfaces/ropes/ladders.

Key Attribute: Strength

Mana Channeling (Level 1). This skill is for using mana and extracting it from the external manachlorians in the environment to refill your own pool. Higher skill levels improve mana regeneration rate and allow for greater single cost mana expenditures without straining your mind. To train this skill spend more mana so you will extract more from the environment.

Key Attribute: Intelligence

That's several times now Joe has seen the term manachlorian. It's like whoever designed this world really liked Phantom Menace.

With his mana sufficiently recharged Joe cast Harvest on his latest crab kill. The result was more of the same. He now had 5 vials of the blue crab blood in his pockets. He carried the meat as best he could, but of course had to put it down when he was getting ready to engage with a crab. Hopefully he could sell some of this meat in town and buy a bag or backpack or something.

Speaking of town, he was almost there. He could smell the smoke that he saw from a distance. Joe didn't run into any more crabs before he finally made he way around the rocks and to the town. It was getting dark, so he made it just in time. As soon as he got within 10 meters of a building he received a CWEST notice.

E- Entered the town of Rust's Edge!

You have received CWEST experience for discovering a settlement.

Joe scanned the buildings as he walked along the dirt path. About a third of the way into the small town he saw what he was looking for, a building with a sign out front that said “The Rusty Cup.” Joe had to blink a few times. The letters on the sign weren't in English, but he still knew what they said, translated into English. It must be a benefit of his Tongue of All ability. He wasn't sure how it was going to work, but it's clear it did work now, so the how was less important.

The inside of The Rusty Cup was dark, smelled sour like sweat, and the three patrons in the little tavern all turned to look at him as he struggled to get through the door without dropping his packages of crab meat. The bartender or tavern keeper, or whatever you wanted to call him was a green-skinned man, just shy of 2 meters tall. He had black hair and a broken tusk coming out of his mouth. He looked like an orc, so that's why Joe was going to assume he was.

“Welcome, young stranger. Feel free to put your packages down and take a load off your feet. I'm Ferric and welcome to The Rusty Cup.”

Joe sat down at the last remaining stool at the bar and put his packages on top of the bar.

“Thank you so much. I'm afraid I don't have any money, but I was hoping I could sell or trade some of this meat.”

At mention of the word meat the other three patrons all eagerly looked towards Ferric, hunger in their eyes.

“Meat you say? Yes, I'm sure we can arrange something. If you couldn't tell from the looks of my friends here, we haven't had much fresh meat lately. Are you a butcher, by chance?”

“No, nothing like that, I just got attacked by these crabs while making my way along the riverbank and helped myself after I killed them.”

“You killed Cutting Crustaceans and didn't lose any limbs yourself? That's a feat in and of itself. What's your name, stranger?”

“I'm Joe. Sure those crabs are tough, but they're rather stupid. Come up from behind them and grab their big claws and they can't use them against you.”

As soon as he opened one of the packages of the already cooked meat the two men and one woman sitting next to him helped themselves to a crab steak each.

“You have to forgive my friends, Joe. As I said, they haven't eaten meat in some time,” said Ferric.

One of the men and the woman started greedily devouring their steaks, but the third one, a small man with bright blond hair, took his time to look at it first. He blinked a few times then spoke up.

“A crab steak? You can't get steaks out of a crab, their meat isn't like that. But sure enough, my Inspect is telling me it's a steak. And why did you travel through the wilderness with butcher paper?” The short man started chuckling. “It's almost like- it's almost like you made this out of thin-” he trailed off and his eyes widened.

Ferric's eyes also widened and simultaneously both men joyously shouted, “You're a mage!”

Already confused by the events of the day, this reaction just added to Joe's confusion. “Uh, yeah. Is that unusual?”

“My boy, we've never had a mage in these parts, the CGS almost never gives anyone that class choice anymore. I heard some elf girl up in Mankerin got that class 20 years back, but she died before she even got to level 5. Mages are notoriously weak. But Mankerin don't got what we got, do they, Ferric?”

“No, Lester, they don't.”

Nervously Joe asked, “What do you have, then?”

The small man, Lester, apparently, said with a big grin, “We have the mine. The mine will make you tough. Get tough and you'll survive much longer than that Mankerin girl.”

“Okay, but what do you get out of it?” Joe asked instantly sensing a scam of some sort.

Ferric responded to this one, “Rust's Edge has been in decline since the last Imperial War fifteen years ago. Our mine is still good, but we have no one to work it. No one wants to come to a town to do a bunch of hard labor if there's nothing good to be had after the labor is done for the day. We lost a lot of our skilled workers to the war itself, and several more moved on in the aftermath since. Besides the four of us you see here, there are only two other people in this whole town. Rust's Edge is dead, but magic, real magic, can help bring it back.”

“I don't know. While I like the idea of getting tougher, I don't know if this is how I want to do it.”

Lester asked, “Do you have anywhere else to be?”

“Not at the moment, no. I'm still new to being a mage, so I guess I'm a little out of sorts right now.”

The other man finally finished his steak and asked, ”Oh, so when did you turn 18?”

“Excuse me?”

“When did your CWEST Guidance Service activate?”

“Oh, that was today. But I don't really understand it all yet. I haven't had time to go over everything cause I was attacked by a crab, and then I wanted to find a town before dark.”

“Happy birthday. I'm Jack, this is Sally. You'll have to forgive our manners. We haven't seen meat nor strangers in some time.”

Ferric took two gold pieces out from under the bar and placed them in front of Joe. “Here, these are worth more than that meat you're selling, but I'm hoping you'll see it as an investment and stay with us for a time. Before you say anything, at least promise to stay a couple of days. I'll give you a key to one of the empty cabins so you can have your privacy. Tomorrow I'll be happy to answer your questions about the CGS, then Lester here will have had time to come up with a training regimen for you so you can decide if that's something you'll want to try. What do you say? Will you give it a shot?”

Not having any other prospects, Joe agreed. He now had a place to live in his new life.