The Wanderer's Rebirth: Other Paths

The following two days passed quickly for him. Both of which passed much like the first one. They left early in the morning, brought along a boxed lunch, of which he assured Myra that he really didn’t need to eat until later that night. Then he’d get to work once they arrived.

The first day saw the foundation completed. It was more of a traditional Canadian foundation though, as it extended high above ground level, though he left spaces for where he’d install windows in the future… once he had a decent supply of silica sand, or something reasonably close to it.

That said, he had run out of stone halfway through the day, so he’d gone a ways away and found a raised bit of the forest. Sure enough, there had been a large deposit of stone buried there which he uncovered using [Foxhole]. It was an amazingly useful power. So useful, in fact, that he was accumulating a fair amount of displaced earth and soil that he would more than likely use to level out the area in the future.

He then used [Astral ConstructA] to create five constructs that he immediately designated as [Astral Ally]s, freeing up his power pool to regenerate back up to full capacity. Each construct was “huge” in size, topping seven metres in height, but quadrupedal, taking on an appearance similar to a centaur… a centaur crossed with a dump truck. He packed them up with absurd amounts of strength… and that was it. Every option went into strength, making it the hauling process that much faster.

At the end of the day, he tried [GrowA] on the teak-like wood shavings, and was pleased when he got several seeds out of it. He’d then quickly planted the seeds before using [Grow] once more, though only the option that accelerated the growth by about ten times. He then left his constructs there for the night with instructions to defend the site from any monsters that might show up.

The next day he used [GrowA] again, this time accelerating the growth even more, causing both Asami and Myra to stare in shock as the five trees rapidly grew as they watched. While they watched the trees grow, he went off again to collect more stone with his constructs.

By the time lunch arrived, the five new trees were a good metre wide and at least thirty metres tall. Once the girls were done eating under the new trees, he ushered them off so that he could get to work. When they were a safe distance away, he climbed up the tree with the help of a created strap, then used [Modify Matter] on it when he was about two thirds of the way up.

It was quite the sight to see the top section of the tree slide off and fall to the side, crashing down and making a racket. Quite the sight, and more than a little bit dangerous, as one of the branches had clipped his shoulder on the way down, nearly knocking him off the tree.

Lesson learned, for the next section of tree he created a very long and heavy rope that he then tied around the top of the tree. The other end was given to one of his constructs. Once in place, he once again used [Modify Matter], but then had the construct immediately give a mighty pull on the rope before quickly heading to the side to avoid the falling hazard.

Then the last part was the easiest, not needing anything special. After [Modify Matter] was used on the base of the tree, he watched as it fell over with a loud thud. After that, he used the power again, but this time to pare off all the branches and debark the sections. Rinse and repeat four more times, and he had a respectable number of logs stacked up.

After that, he prepared the logs with yet another use of [Modify Matter], cutting them into various lengths and sizes, while also pulling the moisture out of them. Effectively curing them over a matter of seconds.

By the time the second day was done, he’d managed to put together the frame for the first floor.

The third day saw a repeat of the second. Grow trees, gather stone, harvest trees, create lumber, and build house.

Though, he did manage to install foot-thick stone walls on the first floor, making the growing building look that much more impressive. He’d gone for a rough-cut look for the stone though, not really wanting to have a reflective house.

This time, he had the constructs load up the basement with all of the materials he’d gathered and made before they left, once again leaving the constructs behind to guard the site.

The fourth day saw the next wave of goblins show up, this time from the southwest. They arrived just as he and his two companions and their ever-present skulk of foxes were leaving the western gate.

“Come back!” a guardswoman yelled urgently, frantically waving at them. “Goblin attack!”

Grinning, Joram urged the two girls back inside while calling his [Astral Ally]s to him.

“Where?” he asked, looking around at the gate.

“To the south,” she replied, trying to get him inside as fast as she could.

“I’ll head there, then,” he said, smiling as he ran off to indignant shouting from the guardswoman, as well as Myra. Asami just looked annoyed.

On the way there, he buffed himself with [BiofeedbackA] as well as [Force ScreenA], happily noting that those two fully augmented buffs hadn’t taken as much of his power pool as before, making him think that it had once more grown. But he didn’t have time to check as he ran, instead forming his N7-90.

By the time he arrived, the goblins had made it to the wall and were trying to toss each other up. There were also twice the number as last time, making him hesitate a bit. His constructs arrived shortly after that, so he sent them directly at the back line where the goblin shamans were pelting the walls with their spells.

Damn, this’ll be tough, he thought, taking it all in once more as his constructs drew attention to themselves. Really, it wasn’t hard when you were shaped like that while being made of silvery-white ectoplasm. Fortunately, the guards on the walls didn’t seem to view them as a threat to Kirkwall, possibly due to word spreading from last time’s assault.

Gritting his teeth in anticipation of the upcoming pain, he started running so that he could get into range of the small army.

Once he was close enough, he blasted the closest goblin to him, then shot it twice more before it went down, recharging his [Psychic Strike] for him. The rest of the battle was a blur of blood, gore, and death. He’d needed to heal himself a few times when he couldn’t dodge an incoming spell in time, which also helped to increase his [Pain Resistance]. Which he could have done without, honestly. Avoiding the hits in the first place was what he was all about, after all.

He also found that his [Telekinesis] Skill was incredibly useful when it came to crowd control. Between that, and using the [Cold] blade skill, he mostly managed to keep out of the thick of things while blasting the goblins with impunity.

He wasn’t sure how long the battle lasted, but was glad when it ended. He was exhausted, probably as exhausted as he’d been after running away from those goblins just over a week ago. Still, he smiled in contentment.

He’d once again lived through it all, though he probably should have just stayed up on the walls and took his shots from there. He shook his head, wondering if Celys would allow him to be up there for the next attack. Considering that he now only had one [Astral Ally] still standing, he wasn’t sure how wise it would be to keep going at it down there.

With thoughts like that flitting through his mind, he made his way through the dead, identifying those he’d killed by their very obvious wounds, looting as he went. While he was doing that, he figured that it was about time to check his notifications. When he saw it, he frowned a bit, then quickly reorganized how it presented its information.

Congratulations!

You’ve gained the following Skills:

- Mana Well

- Marksmanship

- Source of Power

You’ve leveled the following Skills:

- *Clear Mind 12 -> 17

- Dodge 7 -> 9

- Endurance 6 -> 9

- Improved Accuracy 3 -> 5

- Lucky 7 -> 9

- Mana Well 1 -> 3

- Marksmanship 1 -> 2

- Pain Resistance 6 -> 7

- Quick Manifesting 7 -> 11

- Source of Power 1 -> 4

- Strafing 7 -> 9

- Telekinesis 3 -> 11

You’ve gained the following attribute points:

- +1 Speed

- +2 Intellect

- +2 Spirit

- +1 Luck

Kill count:

- 13 Rank D goblins

- 37 Rank C hobgoblins

- 4 Rank B hobgoblins

Looking at the descriptions for [Mana Well] and [Source of Power], they were almost identical. The former increased his mana pool while the later did the same for his power pool. What was interesting was that for every rank in those Skills, he got an additional ten mana or power added to those pools. What was more, for every ten ranks in those Skills, he could get an additional point added to their respective rates of regeneration.

Sure, it wasn’t a lot right now, but he could see how those Skills would add up as they leveled. Heck, he’d just gotten an additional thirty mana and forty power added to his pools!

Then [Marksmanship] caught his attention when he quickly glanced through its description.

Marksmanship

This Skill increases the damage you deal with any ranged attack that requires manual targeting.

It was a very simple description, but one that he was more than glad to read. Given that he’d more or less gone almost fully ranged, it was a godsend. The faster he could take down his enemies, the higher the chances of him surviving another day.

Well, if he kept out of the thick of it, that is.

Shaking his head, he continued looting until he’d found every goblin he’d been responsible for killing. He then tallied up his gains, and smiled.

3,916 bronze coins, 558 silver coins, 13 Grade D cores, 37 Grade C cores, and 4 Grabe B cores, and another Skill Book. This one was called [Iron Belly], making him frown a bit.

Upon inspection, it basically allowed the user to ingest almost anything without negative repercussions. Fitting for a goblin, he supposed, but kind of useless for him. Which led him to wonder if there was a market for Skill Books in Kirkwall. Though, thinking about it, Kirkwall might be a bit small for something like that. He’d just have to ask Celys about it later.

‘You could also hold onto it for now,’ Avi piped in. ‘You never know when something will become useful in the future.’

“True, but I don’t really plan on becoming a hoarder. If someone can benefit from it, then all the better. Besides, I don’t really plan on eating that much anyways. Also, I can just heal myself if it really comes down to it,” he said, shrugging as he put the Skill Book back into his now full inventory.

“I need more storage,” he muttered, thinking about how useful a bag of holding would be.

‘You might not have realized it yet, but you do have access to the necessary knowledge needed to create such things,’ she said, giving him a strange look.

“No, no I didn’t,” he admitted with a frown. “I guess I’ve been too focussed on other things lately.”

‘That’s true. It’s hard to concentrate on things when a beautiful woman is sleeping on your chest,’ she said, giving him what he could only call a “wicked” grin.

“Har. Har,” he said, trying not to remember how that felt. “I’m sure you’re just jealous,” he said to poke back at her, but was nearly floored when she winked at him before once more vanishing.

“Well, sh-,” he said, but was cut off by being tackled by Asami.

“Stop doing that,” she said from her perch on his chest.

“What?”

“Running into battle. It’s bad for the health,” she said, glaring at him as Myra finally caught up.

“Why do you do that?!” she asked, making him wonder to whom she was speaking.

After a few seconds of her glaring at him, he caught on.

“I, ah, need the money,” he said lamely, for it truly was a lame excuse to risk one’s life for money.

“Well stop it! I’ll convince mother to let you stay on the walls. So, please, don’t do that anymore,” she said, looking both angry and about to cry, making him feel even worse for having worried her.

And Asami, who took the opportunity to punch him in the shoulder, then winced.

It took another few minutes to calm them both enough to let him stand again. But then each woman took an arm in theirs and led him back towards Kirkwall. On the way, he sent his last construct back to the construction site to guard it, for he didn’t think that he’d be making it to the worksite any time soon.

As he passed by where his various kills had been, he used [Telekinesis] to grab all their weapons and another “thread” to bind them all together into one bundle. No use in wasting all that metal after all.

As he was dragged through town, he [Recycled] the bundle of metal weapons, choosing to only keep the metallic components, discarding the leather, carbon, and impurities that had been forged into the blades as he passed various planters.

He was then sat down in a nearby park and checked over by the pair, earning him more than a few envious and hateful looks from a good deal of the male passersby. When they were convinced that he was in good health, Myra took the lead in lecturing him about safety and the value of life. Asami only occasionally piped in, though, leaving Myra to have at it.

Even his skulk of foxes was giving him the cold shoulder, yet had still followed him. Or maybe they’d followed Asami and Myra, seeing as how they were both incredibly influential and popular amongst the foxes, one being a [Miko] who tended to them, the other having been called their Matriarch.

Once Myra was done, and he’d promised not to run out like that again, he quickly created a sturdy backpack to carry the metals in, then was promptly dragged off to buy them both consolation food. He wound up buying so much that he had needed to create two large canvas shopping bags. The things that had interested him had gone into his backpack, as he didn’t want them to be accidentally claimed by either woman.

After that, it was back to the house, Myra’s house that is. There, much comfort food was consumed as he only listened with half an ear to what was being said, instead concentrating on going over the things mentioned by Avi.

I guess they’d be called “feats” if I was a character I was playing.

With that in mind, he went over the various processes of creating enchanted items. From what he’d call “wondrous items” to weapons, armour, and golems. Not to mention the “booster” items he’d made up years ago, but now seemed to be a reality. From the standard “angreal” to the much more powerful “sa’angreal” to the incredibly useful “ter’angreal”, he’d totally stolen the names and functions of those items from his favourite fantasy novels growing up and had made them into items he could use in the various campaigns he’d played.

Basically, an “angreal” could boost his manifester level by a certain amount. The “sa’angreal” would boost it even further, while a “ter’angreal” was basically… a power’s matrix imbued into an item. So long as a person pumped in the appropriate amount of psionic power, and had hopefully studied the item beforehand, the power imprinted in it could be used.

There were even two kinds of ter’angreal that one could make. The standard version was just the power. Nothing fancy, just add power and voilà. The second kind also came with the option of adding augmentations to the imprinted power. That option, however, added much more to the cost of creating the item, so not many people did that though.

Anyways, after addressing those “item creation feats”, he moved onto his other “learned” feats.

He’d been aware of [Deep Focus], already having used it more than once. But then came the others. [Empower Power] would have been crazy useful, but alas, he hadn’t spent enough time working on himself, instead choosing to “learn” new things.

[Psicrystal Affinity] was another one that could have helped him a lot, so he was glad to have it. [Psychic Bastion] was a bit of a surprise, but incredibly welcome. Having resistance to any form of ability depletion was a lifesaver. Then [Mind over Body] caught his attention, making him smile. It went incredibly well with [Psychic Bastion] because any ability depletion he wound up suffering from could easily be healed with a good night’s sleep. Or worst case, a bit of bed rest.

Then came [Advanced Constructs] and [Durable Constructs], both incredibly useful, though he thought that maybe he’d already been subconsciously using them given just how awesome his astral constructs had been. He still loved being a Shaper, and very much looked forward to what he’d be able to accomplish in the future.

The last “feat” on the list really made him smile. [Selective Power] was made to make sure that there was no friendly fire when using area of effect powers. Which then opened up a few options when it came to combat in the future.

He was in the process of planning things out when Avi caught his attention, motioning to where Myra and Asami were arguing.

“…I will be staying over tonight to make sure that nothing inappropriate is happening,” Myra insisted, getting a tongue stuck out at her.

“We’re perfectly fine alone, young [Miko],” Asami said, trying to pull rank or something.

“That’s precisely why I need to be there,” Myra insisted, then glanced at Joram.

Myra then went white, her eyes opening into huge saucers, when she realized that he’d been paying attention.