NOVEL FROG Chapter 10. Rank 2 Advancement.
Wez Takez Big Man Persons Shiny Den Become Big Mans Persons! Systen No Lie. Givs Grand Big Quest. Specics Sniny Get then Gets Strong like dem. Lots of shiny gets Big. Hobs are confirm. I too gets big. Strong for Clan. After Hobs What Bigger we Get? I wil find outs. Der shiny in grand big cave. We goes with whole clan. Gets big. Iz plan.
Excerpt from the Enlightend Scholar of the goblins Gobol as he writes his musings on the chief's wall.
Wanting nothing more than to rub his high level in Abe’s face he quickly started writing in the chat.
Indecisive Earth: Hey abe what level did you say you were again...3? 4?
Abe: I’m level 7 now thanks for asking. What's up?
Indecisive Earth: Oh sorry it’s all the same from up here- You’re taking forever to reach LvL 9 scrub I’m. definitely. Going. To. Leave. You. Behind.
Abe: Ayy m8 well-done congratulations, well wishes, and screw off.
SPEED: The only thing better than swift monsters is swift levelling. Nicely done.
Abe: You going pull an amy and wait for me?
Jim: Who's amy?
Indecisive Earth: I haven’t finished my last floor but hmmm… let’s see...uhhhh...well...guess I’ll wait a day then if you’re still not ready you’ll have to play catch up.
Abe: Though we were bros. *oof*. Nah I get it I’m going to focus all my attention on levelling- How do you level by the way? I’m obviously doing something wrong. What's the secret?
Indecisive Earth: You just gotta get good scrub. How many monster types do you have.
Abe: 12 different variations on blast slugs, 2 that weren’t named yet! Think that’s enough? How many types do I need to make to level as fast as you?
Uh...okay...Indecisive Earth did not want to admit he only had like 8 different monster types he could create.
Jim: Who's amy?
Indecisive Earth: Older core Jim. Abe- I don’t think quantity is as important as quality...Okay here’s something Have you tried making a monster with a core? Make a super high concentration of Fire mana in a material then surround it in a shell to prevent it from leaking…
Abe: Like my bombs? So make a bigger bomb?
Indecisive Earth: No! Make the shell last and stop compressing it afterwards. Also, that’s some Explosion mana creation I’m talking a nice calm solid core.
Abe: Okay I’ll try and make a core...most of my mana pool you say? This had better be a good explosion
Indecisive Earth: M8 if you insist on explosions you should really try making a monster that doesn’t die on the first explosion...Stop making disposable monsters they are probably so much effort to replace.
Abe: Oh believe me once I figure that out I’m going to be a happy core...no clue as to how yet but I’m definitely working on it.
Jim: How do I use Earth mana to expand again?
Indecisive Earth: Oh uh...hey look I can feel my third floor being created I have to focus on that- why don’t you ask Abe for help.
He felt kind of bad shirking his responsibility to answer the newest Core's questions but Jim had gotten stuck and asked the same question 3 times now...Also, he really could feel the faintest of buzzing indicating that he was starting to split off his influence into a 3rd floor and he really did want to start working on that…
Working quickly he scoured his influence and started ripping out dense packages of mana out of random walls. A streak of shivery metal in the wall from when he had lost control while making a jumper. A streak of weird crystal in the floor from when he had attempted to add Crystal mana to an earth core last minute and it had rejected it. Pulling all of the worst offenders down into his third floor he cut them into cubes and embedded them in a portion of the wall in his core chamber in a checkerboard pattern. Now some of the walls matched the floor! He moved some of the less obviously dense materials close to his 3rd floor on the second floor and then replaced them with some weaker bits near the far end and patiently waited for the process to complete.
Feeling slightly guilty about leaving Abe to deal with Jim and hastening his advancement he reopened the chat.
Jim: Okay but how do you replace what’s already happening with your own Earth mana.
Abe: I don’t know! I just use regular good old reliable attributeless mana to expand I’m not the core to ask.
Jim: Okay but how would I go about doing this.
Indecisive Earth: Hey abe sorry I think I’m close to finishing my floors I might have to leave soon. You think I can ignore the advancement and stay here with you?
Abe: Get him off me- and oh I mean maybe if you ignore the selection? If there even is another mana selection. Sucks you didn’t wait but I’ll catch up soon don’t worry.
Indecisive Earth: Yeah it just sort of happened. I’ll scout out the next rank and welcome you with open arms when you arrive.
Jim: So...whats the mana types we get with the next rank.
Abe: Be seeing you IE, For the last time I DON’T KNOW LIL BRO.
Closing the chat he watched his influence slowly split. The divide becoming more and more apparent as mana started to move from one section to the other pooling in his lower floors as it trickled down.
Finally, with a rush, it formed enough to settle as a 3rd floor prompting a new pop-up to appear nearly instantly.
There were more options available than last time and it was split into different sections. This popup seemed to wipe/resist his customizations appearing in the same dull grey as his previous ones. There was also still a disappointing lack of solid information with each option only providing a brief description. There were also no warnings attached to any option despite many being similar to his first choice. As if the system decided he could think for himself and needed no further guidance each choice was laid bare before him.
Mana Specification
Rank 2 Mana specializations (NOTE Racial affinity is 70% at base in comparison to 90% for Rank 1 mana)
Life Death Control / 2, Life Control * 2
Mental Kinetic Control / 2, Mental Control * 2
Death Life control / 2, Death Control * 2
Kinetic Mental Control / 2, Kinetic Control * 2
Life + Death Life&Death * 1.75 (+bonus to preventing negative effects), Mental&Kinetic / (1.75 * 1.75)
Mental + Kinetic Mental&Kinetic * 1.75 (+bonus to preventing negative effects), Life&Death / (1.75 * 1.75)
All 4 Base Elements By settling in the second rank all 4 Rank 2 elements are increased by 10%
Unlocked Specializations due to Earth Specialization
Dirt Subspecialization increases base- Dirt mana control * 2, Earth * 1.25, Air / 1.25
Rock Subspecialization increases base- Rock mana control * 2, Earth * 1.25, Air / 1.25
Crystal* Subspecialization increases base- Crystal mana control * 2, Earth * 1.25, Air / 1.25
Metal Subspecialization increases base- Metal mana control * 2, Earth * 1.25, Air / 1.25
Earth + Water Harmonic Specialization. All Earth+Water Combinations and sub derivations * 2 Control, Earth * 1.25, Air / 1.25, Water * 1.5, and Fire / 1.5 Control.
Earth + Fire Harmonic Specialization. All Earth+Fire Combinations and sub derivations * 2 Control, Earth * 1.25, Air / 1.25, Fire * 1.5, Water / 1.5 Control.
Unlocked through Special actions
*Crystal Improved Through consistent use of a harder mana before its system unlock - Control can only increase with official boosts while penalties decrease. Crystal mana * 3, Earth * 1.375, Air / 1.167
Explosion Through experimentation, you have unlocked a subspecialization from a different base from your own, slightly affected due to your start being lower this option provides a flat * 1.75 boost to Explosion mana and a * 1.31 boost to Fire mana
Pressure Mana Through experimentation between the interactions in Fire and Water, you have discovered Steam/Pressure mana. By taming said uncontrollable mana with Earth you have lessened some of its negative properties. * 1.75 control with pressure mana and reduced penalties from using it.
Mana Specification
Rank 2 Mana specializations (NOTE Racial affinity is 70% at base in comparison to 90% for Rank 1 mana)
Life Death Control / 2, Life Control * 2
Mental Kinetic Control / 2, Mental Control * 2
Death Life control / 2, Death Control * 2
Kinetic Mental Control / 2, Kinetic Control * 2
Life + Death Life&Death * 1.75 (+bonus to preventing negative effects), Mental&Kinetic / (1.75 * 1.75)
Mental + Kinetic Mental&Kinetic * 1.75 (+bonus to preventing negative effects), Life&Death / (1.75 * 1.75)
All 4 Base Elements By settling in the second rank all 4 Rank 2 elements are increased by 10%
Unlocked Specializations due to Earth Specialization
Dirt Subspecialization increases base- Dirt mana control * 2, Earth * 1.25, Air / 1.25
Rock Subspecialization increases base- Rock mana control * 2, Earth * 1.25, Air / 1.25
Crystal* Subspecialization increases base- Crystal mana control * 2, Earth * 1.25, Air / 1.25
Metal Subspecialization increases base- Metal mana control * 2, Earth * 1.25, Air / 1.25
Earth + Water Harmonic Specialization. All Earth+Water Combinations and sub derivations * 2 Control, Earth * 1.25, Air / 1.25, Water * 1.5, and Fire / 1.5 Control.
Earth + Fire Harmonic Specialization. All Earth+Fire Combinations and sub derivations * 2 Control, Earth * 1.25, Air / 1.25, Fire * 1.5, Water / 1.5 Control.
Unlocked through Special actions
*Crystal Improved Through consistent use of a harder mana before its system unlock- Control can only increase with official boosts while penalties decrease. Crystal mana * 3, Earth * 1.375, Air / 1.167
Explosion Through Experimentation, you have unlocked a subspecialization from a different base from your own, Slightly affected due to your start being lower this option provides a flat * 1.75 boost to Explosion mana and a * 1.31 boost to Fire mana
Pressure Mana Through Experimentation between the interactions in Fire and Water, you have discovered Steam/Pressure mana. By taming said uncontrollable mana with earth you have lessened some of its negative properties. * 1.75 control with pressure mana and reduced penalties from using it.
The panel moved with his focus and he could not dismiss it. Trying to open his chat made the panel quickly fly in front of it, blocking both his view and ability to message anyone telling them about his new choices. Waiting based only on curiosity, he spent a few minutes - seeing if another "Indecisive" title would be given with further notes but nothing popped up.
Guess I really should make a decision. There's no point waiting around then, is there.
Let's see... I don't want to ignore my earth specialization so I want to pick something that might work well with it. Picking a subspecialization might be nice - as an added bonus it helps increase Earth even higher and there's even an added bonus for picking Crystal mana.
Also, there's a bonus/weakness with Earth and Air but no weakness tied along with the Crystal mana itself.
That's pretty tempting...
I've been having trouble using Earth mana to make monsters that move however and I don't think crystals can remove that weakness. I should check to see if there are better choices
Anyways movement...I think Water mana helps with movement- The monster I'm most proud of making so far is Silver. Maybe Earth+Water would be a good choice. Movement though. Kinetic mana means movement right? That's exactly what I want. Is it a better option than Water though?
It's a higher Tier.
What does racial affinity mean? Does that mean I start at 70%? 70% of what? It says elemental mana is 90%. I didn't get that information last time. Why? Is it because I didn't have anything to compare it to? Now that I have some practice with rank 1 mana I can guess how hard it will be to use rank 2 mana?
I think I remember back in my first choice there was a warning saying higher and more esoteric versions of magic aren't automatically better. Also just because I choose something here doesn't mean I can't also use Water mana or Kinetic mana. So maybe I should go with what excites me the most and pick the crystal option...
The stupid system doesn't tell me enough I need to know. When I'm picking why doesn't it just give me a "Recommended choice" and be done with it.
...
Comparing each one he thought out each combination then settled on his choice and confirmed it, before drifting off into his second sleep since he was born.
...
Regaining consciousness, the newly advanced core checked all of his system panels. There was a new advancement condition in his status, but other than that it appeared unchanged. Moving next to his custom panels he found his material store and bestiary were heavily upgraded- no longer were there weird asterisks in some of the sections but the descriptions had been split out into two- One a Core specific description...One a description written by adventurers?
The Materials all had precise measurements attached to them as metadata that could be read while focusing. Where each classification was listed as a %AMD (Absolute Mana Density) and a separate string of base materials that could be used to create it.
All this added information made each section a more distributable form.
Next, checking the chat it, passed by in a blur of comments.
CoresR-US: Buy Buy Buy! Give me your mana for I’m having a sale right now.
Coreful: Guys...anyone...Remember the warning about mixing life and Death mana?
Just Another Core: Damn these last few levels are really a chore aren't they folks...anyone?
Coreful: Do...Not...Mix them. I’m being stalked by what came out of that...that hole and I can’t control it.
CoresR-US: The newest sale features 10 new monster schematics for only 75% of the previous mana cost. I can definitely recommend it for any up-and-coming core wishing to spice up their dungeon.
Coreful: I...oh god- it’s just killed my strongest monster can anyone gift me something to throw at it I really don’t want to die.
Killer Queen: Hell I think I just burst the surface. Later Lads. :3
Scab: Everything was better when I was Tier 1. I wish I could go back to the innocent days.
XxX-_-XxX: Someone PM me for a surprise.
The Mr: This Boss monster is better than anything I have ever made. 5 Tier 2 cores and its yours.
Coreful: MR!!!! Please. Send me that I really will die if that gets closer to me I really can’t afford it but it could save me.
The Mr: I don’t do freebies - any other takers?
Scab: I’m the only one left from my Tier 1 group. Do you know how that feels? Awful. I wish I could bring them back to life.
DIZ: I just checked and...and...yep this chat is still a cesspool glad I ignore it normally.
YAH_BOI_STUCK: The walls are closing in, they just keep growing. My inventory is completely full and my influence is stifled. There’s nothing I can do. I’m stuck. Does someone want to take my whole inventory? I can “Sell” it to you along with some cores to sweeten the deal. You just gotta unload this stack of materials it would really help so much. Please. I've made a trade option. Any takers
Mage King: LOL no one would take that deal. I’m not a garbage disposal core, it's your fault for not properly managing your resources.
And so on...the stream of messages was many many times more than the chat he was used to and the number of Cores listed as tracked was close to 80.
For some reason, even though the chat was many many times more active it seemed less...engaged than his previous one. Cores sent messages as if dropping them off into the void while nearly ignoring all the other cores messaging.
Looking for any other changes to this panel he noticed a bar near the top. Focusing on it the bar expanded to cover most of the screen with a small label near the top- Private Messaging. Seeming to be blank for now he closed it and moved on to the newest tab he had been given: “MarketPlace”.
The market was a tangled mess of expandable panels and tingling settings begging to be tweaked. Depending on how he wanted to use it, panels could be sorted by any number of options. Buy requests and sell requests could be separated and further sorted as many times as he wished. Each box could be searched for based on what was being traded- Information, Problem-solving, Materials, Monster designs, Actual Monsters, Loot schematics, Trap schematics. Anything and everything Indecisive Earth could think of was being traded.
Expanding a few panels into pop-ups he read their descriptions in an off-hand manner.
OrderName MORGO
PosterName ClamityWrappedInABlanket.
OrderType Sell
Type Boss Monster
Price 500M or Negotiable.
Desc Morgo is a BEAST. Real Proud of this one, I'm selling him pre seeded just because I couldn't help myself- I couldn't wait to see what he would do and so will you once you see this absolute unit of a boss monster.
OrderName Commission. Help studying the effects of an unknown material.
PosterName Zeelot.
OrderType Buy
Type Information
Price 50M on return delivery. Willing to accept Mana worth in cores for Tier 2s
Desc Through an accident I've come across a strange material. Potentially dangerous Potentially useful I want help studying it. Will Send you material and once a sucessful analysis has been done you can send me it back and I'll provide full payment. Additional bonuses may be provided depending on findings.
Closing them he searched for Cores selling information then further tried to sort for information for beginners. Dozens of sell orders with names like “Tutorial 2” “Essential Primers for Cores new to tier two” “Everything you need to know about Tier 2” “Do not read anything before you buy this incredibly important information packet” “No Nonsense Tips and Tricks for All New Cores” filled the screen.
Overwhelmed by the number of options and slightly leery of some of their presentations he sighed, and mustering up his courage, posted a message to the endless reel that was the public chat.
Indecisive Earth: Hey I'm new, can anyone tell me anything I should know- - or potentially recommend any information to buy?
Cringing at how dumb and hesitant he sounded he sent the message off before immediately getting several Private messages.
Two messages were simply a string of information linking to a place in the market. The third was a more detailed message saying he should buy the following
Sold on this pitch, he followed the link to the panel and focused on the purchase option. It was a simple option with the purchasable information in the receive section and a blank area in the send section. Accepting the trade he got ready. Now, what am I getting myself into?