"Again?" Elena asked.

"Please," Alarion replied, happily taking her offered arm as he struggled back to his feet.

"Oh, come now, this is getting absurd," ZEKE said sourly from the sidelines of the courtyard. "Humoring the young master to show him the error of his ways is one thing. But this has gone on most of the day. Why do you think your luck will be any better on the seventeenth attempt?"

"I'm not relying on luck."

That much was clear. Neither the attribute nor the metaphysical concept could have accounted for the young man's incremental improvement over the previous seven hours. He'd not won a single fight, but he was losing them more and more slowly. His first battle had lasted less than two minutes, while his most recent bout had taken thirteen.

Such hard-fought losses clearly had a cumulative effect, however. The [Void Arena] could not inflict actual damage to those within it, but they could still deplete their HP, MP, and Stamina resources through their own actions. The last was most relevant to Alarion and most visible to his teachers in the heavy rise and fall of his chest and the slight sag of his shoulders.

"If you must," ZEKE conceded, adding to his pile of losses for the day. "But before you continue this farce, another break is in order. And we can resume your lesson from earlier, so at least something productive is accomplished this evening."

"Perhaps we can review his skills as well? That was on the original agenda, was it not?" Elena asked.

The glare ZEKE sent her should have melted the woman down to her bones. "Yes, Mistress Elena. We were going to review his available skill choices after he had decided on an appropriate Form."

"Ezekiel. The boy will defeat that dragon before you win your battle." Elena said with only a glimmer of sympathy. "Take your victories where you can. I believe we have reached the mental attributes?"

ZEKE's shoulder slumped ever so slightly as Alarion took his cross-legged position on the courtyard floor.

Some battles truly were unwinnable.

"Intelligence." The Steelborn said, voice dripping with irritation after a quick cast of [Display Status]. "Is your ability to store and process information. It helps you to examine a problem and think through a solution. It does not make you smarter in and of itself, but it allows you to think and recall more quickly, which often ends up the same. Someone with high intelligence often listens to their betters in order to-"

"Ezekiel."

"Fine. As one of the three mental statistics, intelligence also directly affects your ability to control the flow of mana within and without your body. It is the attribute most directly linked to raw magical power. Casting spells with a high intelligence will lead to increased damage and make your magic less likely to be resisted."

"Intelligence can also help you qualify for specific skills, classes, and feats of strength," Elena added. "My ability to cast ritual magic comes from a skill, but I would not have been able to take that skill had I not met the prerequisite intelligence score."

"That applies to all attributes?" Alarion asked.

"Yes. Though it is slightly more common in mental attributes than physical ones." Elena confirmed.

"You already have such a skill, actually." ZEKE joined back in. "Your [Detection] skill has a minimum perception requirement of twenty-five. Which brings us nicely to perception."

"My ability to see and hear things. Precisely, maybe?" Alarion mused.

Elena smirked. "He is catching on."

"Indeed, young master." ZEKE nodded, some of his sourness evaporating. "As you've surmised, the mental and physical attributes mirror one another to some extent. Colloquially, some call these the Power, Speed, Endurance pairings. Intelligence and strength are both 'power' attributes for body and mind. Perception and agility are the 'speed' attributes, focusing on deftness and reaction time. Willpower and vitality are all about fortitude and resistance."

"With higher perception, you will be better able to spot the hidden, track the quick, and precisely manipulate complex arcane powers, resulting in spells that are more accurate and channel your mana more efficiently. With higher willpower, you will be more likely to resist mental and magical attacks, endure hardships without psychological damage, persist in difficult tasks, and maintain complex magic for longer periods of time."

Alarion considered the words, mulling the implications in his mind. "Is it better to focus on one or the other? Or one pairing?"

"The ideal answer is to focus everywhere. To try and increase all of your stats as much as possible since all attributes are complementary," Elena replied. "But since most of us are not quite as blessed as you, we tend to focus, usually along complementary or oppositional paths. That is, most awakened either focus on a pairing, agility, and perception is common, or primarily on physical or mental attributes to avoid spreading themselves too thin."

"Your class choices may also make that decision for you," ZEKE said. "Your survivor path is relatively balanced, if somewhat uninspired in terms of its attribute growths. By contrast, your Orphan class is almost entirely luck-based. Skill choices can help you balance out or specialize in a particular attribute. As you rank up, you will have more control with free points or floating percentages, but… yes, I can see your eyes glazing over as I'm losing you."

"What?" Alarion asked.

"Luck." ZEKE's verbal frown had returned as he returned to the lecture proper. "Luck is a curious attribute, and rare in one so young. Most creatures have only the six basic attributes we have covered so far, but there are others. Luck, Presence, Edge, Power, and Phase are the most common. I myself have the Power attribute, linked to the energy source that acts as my 'heart'."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Alarion cast an inquisitive glance at Elena, who shook her head.

Zeke continued. "These are sometimes called 'advanced' attributes, usually by those that have them, but as you found with your luck Attribute, obtaining and growing them often comes at a tradeoff to your more traditional scores, making them more of a side grade at best."

"The major advantage in having them lies in the flexibility they provide. These non-standard stats can be prerequisites for unlocking skills and classes like any other attribute. Skills and classes that someone with only the base attributes might not have access to." ZEKE explained, casting his sidelong glance at Elena before he continued. "In your case, for example, I expect one of your skill choices will be a looting power of some sort, which usually requires higher levels or a more specialized path to obtain."

Elena cleared her throat, and ZEKE offered her a placating gesture before continuing.

"As for the attribute itself, it is largely what it sounds like. You are slightly luckier than those around you. As the attribute grows, if the attribute grows, you'll find yourself benefiting from fate a little more often than not. It is hard to quantify outside of specific skill uses or instances where luck is explicitly a factor. In a fight, you might survive a blow that should have killed you or strike a blow that should have been deflected, though I wouldn't rely on it. Go into a house of ill repute and start playing cards with a high luck stat, and you will quickly find yourself with new enemies."

"What is a house of-"

"Never mind that, Alarion. It is a place where people gamble." Elena ended that discussion before ZEKE even considered tampering with the poor boy's morality. "The point is that it is good to have, but bad to rely upon without a skill."

"Skills help?" Alarion asked, though his narrowed eyes suggested he was still somewhat hung up on his previous question.

"Some skills can channel attributes in straightforward, noticeable, and predictable ways. Percentage bonuses or skills that explicitly scale off a particular statistic tend to avoid any ambiguity. A 'critical hit' style skill is common with luck-based fighters, for example, and will often give a flat percentage chance to increase the damage of a strike based on luck, which is much more reliable than I'm lucky sometimes."

Alarion absorbed the last of this with a nod, mulling over the words as he reviewed the floating [Status] screen provided by ZEKE. "The magical pairing determines my maximum MP. And my Stamina is a mix?"

"Of your willpower and vitality, yes," ZEKE replied.

"Sounds like we're done?" Alarion asked, reaching for his sword.

"Not quite," Elena stopped him. "Feats of Strength we can go over at a later point, but we've waited long enough to choose your skills."

Alarion frowned. "They'll make me stronger, won't they?"

Elena nodded.

"Then we should do it after," Alarion replied, pushing himself to his feet. "I don't think it counts if I cheat."

ZEKE tilted his head. "As a self-imposed challenge, it hardly-"

"Alarion." Elena interrupted, her eyes narrowed. "What do you mean it doesn't count?"

When the boy could not immediately meet her eyes, Elena turned her attention to the floating record of his Status. There, she noticed the absence of an available skill for his Orphan class and swore.

Self-Motivated [Rare](Level 1)

Description: Sometimes it is best to set your own goals. You know that better than most, and have taken the power to do so into your own hands.

Requirements: Level 1 Orphan Class. LUK 30. Cannot already possess a Quest Skill.

Type: Quest. Passive/Active.

Effects: Self-Assign a Quest up to once per day. Rewards given are proportional to the difficulty and danger of the task, modified by the user's LUK attribute. Self-imposed restrictions can increase rewards. Self-imposed failure conditions can increase rewards, but also provoke penalties. Only one quest can be assigned at any time.

Growths: LUK +24

Note: Due to the flaw [Single-Minded], this skill was automatically selected.

Additional Note: Due to the flaw [Single-Minded], this skill can assign quests without user consent. Quests assigned in this fashion do not count toward the once per day limit. Quests assigned in this fashion do not count toward the active quest limit.

At Elena's command, ZEKE quickly navigated further into Alarion's status, pulling up the details of his self-imposed quest.

—

Dragon Slayer

Description: There is a dragon. Sort of. Slay it.

Success Conditions: Defeat the Dragon conjured by Elena's Void Arena ritual.

Failure Conditions: Fail to meet success conditions within one day. Defeat the dragon with outside assistance. Defeat the dragon with a weapon other than an Imperial Greatsword. Gain any additional skills.

Reward: One Uncommon Quest Box

Penalty: None.

Note: This quest was automatically assigned due to the flaw [Single-Minded] and does not count against the once-per-day limit of Self-Motivated.

"That could have gone worse," Elena said at last, begrudgingly. "A questing power is more complicated than a simple looting power, but a rare skill so early on is nothing to scoff at."

ZEKE couldn't help but agree, even as he bristled at the lost opportunities. "It should also assist in his early training, provided we set the right goals."

Both turned their pointed gaze to Alarion, who met it not by wilting away but by cocking his head to the side in obvious confusion.

"You are not, under any circumstances, to assign your daily quest without the express permission of ZEKE or myself," Elena said with cold seriousness. "Do you understand?"

"Mm." Alarion nodded sharply.

"Take her warning seriously." ZEKE admonished. "Questing powers can be an immense boon, but selecting the wrong quest can be more than just a waste. It can be dangerous. Rewards for a questing power can be virtually limitless, but so too can the risks. Many a talented Vitrian has died chasing after an impossible quest reward, or suffered a penalty so severe it ended their career, even their lives."

"My power can kill me?" Alarion asked, alarmed.

"In extreme circumstances, yes," ZEKE confirmed. "Attribute loss, skill loss, class loss, curses, diseases, and random teleportation are other penalties I've also heard of. The only actual death penalties I'm aware of were entered willingly, but with your power…"

"That might not be an option." Elena finished with a weary sigh. "Most questing powers are like yours. You set a goal, and if you achieve that goal, you are rewarded. You will always see the potential risks before confirming a quest, meaning that you would have to be quite dimwitted or desperate to put yourself in real danger."

"But I don't always get to choose."

"No, you do not." The woman frowned. "Your flaw makes it closer to the effect of a subset of questing powers known as a Geas, though yours is self-imposed. We need to temper your self-control sooner rather than later, to keep that stubbornness of yours from putting you at real risk. We can not clear your flaw, but we can mitigate it. Ezekiel has a training regime focused on…"

Elena's words trailed off as she studied the boy's expression. To his credit, it was a distinctly focused look. To his detriment, it wasn't focused on her. She didn't even need to follow his gaze, and instead snapped her fingers in front of his eyes to break the spell her waiting ritual magic had on his attention.

Alarion jerked in response, his whole body tense as he reached for his weapon. Upon seeing her, he relaxed quickly, a sheepish, shy look crossing his face as he realized his mistake and looked away from her. "Sorry."

She shook her head. "Do not be sorry-"

"Be better," Alarion replied.

Elena cocked a thin eyebrow, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Not all of her lessons were going to waste.

"Show us what better looks like."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.