Great Journey: Whims of Fate

Bastion immediately noticed the change in his long hair, it had shifted from his mother's blonde to his father's translucent hue. It was clear proof that he had attained the Diamond Knight class.

He checked his body and saw that all the wounds had closed, while he felt healthier than ever. The diamond dust that had adhered to his skin was likely absorbed, allowing the wounds to heal.

"Think 'status' to view your stats, young master. And remember, never reveal them to anyone. Not even Elyra," Sibelle instructed firmly.

"Thank you, Sibelle."

'Status,' Bastion thought.

The same transparent blue screen appeared, covering his vision and displaying his information.

[Name]: Bastion Diamondhart

[Age]: 18

[Class]: Diamond Knight (Rank 3)

[Ability]: Diamond Body

[Rank]: Apprentice

[Level]: 1

[Health]: 73/73

[Mana]: 51/51

[Strength]: 61

[Dexterity]: 50

[Vitality]: 73

[Intelligence]: 51

[Wisdom]: 62

[Charm]: 45

[Intuition]: 70

[Status Points]: 1

[Arts]: Earth Magic 3, Light Magic 3, Shield 3, Sword 2, Whip 2, Unarmed 2, Heavy Armor 2, Fire Magic 2, Water Magic 2, Dark Magic 2, Wind Magic 2, Smithing 2, Riding 2, Taming 1, Cooking 1

[Skills]: Shield Bash 3, Block 3, Charge 3, Reinforce 3, Amplify 3, Slash 2, Stab 2, Smash 2, Parry 2, Dodge 2, Dash 2, Jump 1, Taunt 1, Diamond Edge 0, Diamond Rain 0, Diamond Armor 0, Diamond Shrapnel 0, Diamond Steed 0

[Skill Points]: 1

Bastion examined his status and felt pleased with his progress overall.

His level was still 1 because levels were based on experience gained from killing after class acquisition. This system allowed even commoners to rise in power despite lacking innate talent and being unable to train stats above 30.

Of course, such people usually focused on a single stat, since they only received one status point per level. Even so, that was often enough to reach the next Rank, and the resulting talent boost could be used to raise other stats through dedicated training, much like what Bastion does. It was an uphill battle, with a 90% death rate before reaching Rank 2, but for some like his mother, the risk was worth the reward.

Bastion, however, was different. Unlike commoners, he had innate talent and could increase his stats through exercise and combat. That made his status points too valuable to spend lightly; they were best reserved for emergencies or after he fully excavated his talent. 

His advantage would start to slow around Rank 2 or 3 depending on the heights his ancestors had attained, but until then, he could continue advancing simply because he was far stronger than the average person.

Bastion assessed his stats and was pleased to see that his Strength, Dexterity, and Vitality were clear successes, well-earned after more than a decade of daily effort. On the other hand, his Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charm were shockingly high, despite having only dedicated a few hours each day to improving them. Then again, he had spent four years focused entirely on mental training before he began working on his physical strength.

Strength determines the amount of force muscles can exert and offers a minor boost to physical resistance. The most effective way to increase it is through repeated use of physical skills, as they typically place greater strain on the body than any standard workout routine.

Dexterity enhances flexibility, hand-eye coordination, muscle speed, reflexes, and balance. Alongside Strength, it influences how lean or muscular a person appears, assuming their body fat is low enough to reveal muscle definition. The most effective way to improve Dexterity is through consistent training targeting the specific abilities it governs.

Vitality, on the other hand, dictates how much damage the body can withstand before recovery becomes ineffective. It also improves resistance to physical status effects and boosts health regeneration. 

Together with Strength and Dexterity, Vitality roughly determines stamina. When all three are balanced, an individual can be expected to have the stamina of a typical human.

For instance, an average human can sprint at full speed for about 0 to 6 seconds before beginning to slow slightly due to overexertion. By the 10-second mark, even trained athletes are unable to maintain their top speed.

A person with high Vitality compared to Strength and Dexterity could sustain a full sprint much longer. In contrast, someone with lower Vitality would be forced to fight below their peak output to preserve stamina, which reduces their effective combat capability. However, this approach allows them to fight for extended periods, even days, just not at their absolute best.

The best way to increase it is to consume stamina and health. Masochists will certainly thrive.

Intelligence increases maximum thinking speed, mana control, and magic capacity. The best way to enhance it is through intense mental activity, with training in free-cast magic being one of the most effective options. The more the brain is challenged, the greater the gains.

There are other ways to increase mana capacity such as implants, elixirs, and rare treasures from nature but they are quite mythical as far as the books in the library are concerned.

Wisdom increases magic resistance, mental resistance, and mana regeneration. The best way to increase it is through learning in general either through life experience or reading books.

Charm increases sociability, attractiveness, and, more than most realize, mental resistance. The idiom "It takes one to know one" sums it up best. The most effective way to raise Charm is by building confidence.

The most significant stats for a Diamond Knight are Vitality and Wisdom. The other stats can be enhanced with Reinforce and Amplify, so as long as they are near average, they will be sufficient.

Thanks to the increased mana and stamina regeneration granted by his Ability, Bastion could keep Reinforce and Amplify active continuously. Given his high Vitality, he should be able to maintain Amplify indefinitely, so long as he wasn't training too hard.

'Intuition? Is that a quantification of my talent from my previous life?' Bastion wondered. There was no information available on it, so he decided to observe and learn over time.

Arts represented effort and dedication to a discipline. The more time and energy spent, the higher its level, capped by Rank.

At Apprentice Rank, Arts and Skills cap at level 3, Rank 1 at 5, Rank 2 at 7, Rank 3 at 9, and Rank 4 at 10.

Skills were instant-cast spells or actions granted by the gods. They leveled up through use or by spending Skill Points. They were capped by Rank just like Arts.

Spending Skill Points followed a growing cost: 5 points to unlock a class skill at level 0, 1 point to reach level 2, 2 points for level 3, and so on (total: 50 Skill Points to reach level 10 from 0)

As with status points, Skill Points were precious, best reserved for unlocking essential abilities or pushing a rarely used but essential skill to level 10 at Rank 4.

Overall, Bastion was pleased. Balancing close combat and magic was no easy task, yet he had already maxed three Arts and five Skills. For an 18-year-old noble just receiving his first class, that was well above average.

As he read through his Arts, Bastion spotted Smithing 2, Taming 1, and Cooking 1.

'Did those come from my previous life too, like Intuition?' Bastion wondered.

Smithing made sense, given his background in engineering, computers, raw materials, and production, all areas where his knowledge far exceeded the average. While he didn't hold any formal degrees, he had accumulated significant expertise through self-directed research and hands-on experience running a manufacturing company. 

Some might argue his experience wasn't directly relevant, but he had thoroughly studied every document submitted by his engineers. He made sure no employee could ever use their technical expertise to undermine or blackmail him out of his own company.

Taming most likely came from training his German shepherd. He had studied canine behavior and personally trained him to ensure his family was safe around the dog and protected from intruders.

'Cooking definitely came from my previous life,' he mused. 'I've never cooked in this one. Everything was always provided, and the meals were consistently top notch. It was like eating at a five-star restaurant every single day.'

'Did my Intelligence and Wisdom carry over too, since I was already born intelligent?'

'Wait… Does this mean my parents have known about it since the day I was born?' Bastion dreaded the thought.

A headache bubbled up at the idea that his parents had been in on it from the beginning.

'Is this why they treated me differently? Because they know I couldn't have been their child with such a status?'

'Well… they still haven't killed me, so this is most likely a give-and-take relationship. Although I have no idea what they're taking from me.'

Bastion pushed the troubling thoughts to the back of his mind and finally closed the status screen. He'd have to address the issue eventually, but for now, he felt unusually sleepy.

"Master, what's wrong?" Elyra asked, concerned.

"I don't know, but I suddenly feel sleepy. Take me back to my room. I need a bath before I fall asleep," Bastion said in a drowsy tone.

Elyra escorted him to his room, where he took a bath and went to bed early for the day.

-----

Support me on Patreon

patreon/babywrath