Warning: A Lot of Numbers Ahead 😊 ********** It’s almost funny how quickly one’s perception of the world can change. The sun still traveled
Warning: A Lot of Numbers Ahead 😊
**********
It’s almost funny how quickly one’s perception of the world can change.
The sun still traveled the same path every day. There were still magic beasts to fight. We were still deep in the Endless Forest, yet everything felt different now.
The crushing mana felt like a warm hug, the magic beasts weaker; it was all just so….
Tranquil. Like we were taking a leisurely stroll through the woods, not deep in a magic-dense region.
….
Maybe it was because death had flown in on green scales and black wings, and somehow— we won. We beat the odds and were stronger because of it.
We kicked that lesser dragon’s ass and leveled like crazy to the point everything else appeared mundane by comparison. And things didn’t stop there; oh no, we were still improving, both of us. The only thing that changed was that I wasn't the center of attention for a change; Tabitha was.
Smiling, I sipped from my waterskin atop a fallen branch dozens of feet thick. While I was enjoying myself from atop my perch, Tabitha was having fun tormenting the local wildlife below. Off to the side, she was squaring off against three ants the size of large dogs. They hissed and shrieked, clicking their mandibles angrily as they lunged at her—or was it in fear?
Probably fear.
I almost felt sorry for them. Almost.
We were traveling along the outskirts of their nest, so this wasn’t the first group to attack us, and it probably wouldn't be the last. The three in front of us were already the fourth group we ran into in the past thirty-six hours, and it was starting to get annoying. However, that might just be my opinion. After all, Tabitha looked like she was having plenty of fun.
I watched transfixed as she systematically de-limbed the three insects with such ease and precision that it sent a shiver down my spine. Her eyes were half-closed as she danced between the three magic beasts like a phantom in a ballroom. Tabitha rarely swung her sword, but an ant's leg was cleanly severed at the joint when she did.
Each cut was so fast and precise that the ants didn’t even realize their limbs were missing until they tried to move them, and nothing happened. It was hauntingly beautiful to watch, in a very macabre way.
The poor creatures never stood a chance from the start. All three were below level 50, with the highest only reaching level 47. If Tabitha wanted to, she could’ve killed them the moment they first charged at her; instead, she was using them to test out her new skill and grow better acquainted with her increased stats.
Sadly, opponents of their caliber didn’t offer her much to work with. The ants were too weak to offer her even a semblance of a challenge.
Their movements were too linear and predictable, and if, by some miracle, one of them managed to wrap their mandibles around Tabitha, they didn't have the strength to scratch her armor, even in its weakened state.
They were mindless beasts charging towards their death; such is life….
…..
Alright, that’s enough trying to sound cool in my head. “Times up.” I stand up and clap my hands loudly, startling the ants who had forgotten I was there. Oppositely, Tabitha didn't so much twitch at the sudden noise; she just kept gliding between the ants like nothing had happened at all.
“My break is over, and we’re wasting precious daylight,” I call down to her when she doesn’t stop.
“You sure? It feels like it’s only been a few minutes,” Tabitha casually calls back to me as she effortlessly dodges another lunge attack from one of the ants like she wasn’t in the middle of a battle.
“It’s been fifteen minutes,” I correct her as I lazily hop down from my resting spot. “Remember, we agreed; each time we’re attacked, you get fifteen minutes to practice your swordplay while I rest. After that, we keep moving. Besides, what else could you possibly gain from fighting them in that condition?” I gesture with my eyes to the poor ants, who are barely standing.
“Hurry up and put them out of their misery.” I tell her, channeling my best ‘mom’ voice.
“I suppose you are right.” Tabitha’s shoulders slump a fraction of an inch as she reluctantly agrees. It was subtle, but I could tell she was disappointed to cut her practice short, feeling like she hadn’t improved enough.
Then, Tabitha's entire deminer changes in the blink of an eye. Her eyes sharpened dangerously, and her killing intent burst out of her like a tidal wave, flooding the surrounding forest with bloodlust. “Ready?” She asks me in a cold, emotionless voice as all three ants freeze in place, proving I was correct that even mindless beasts could feel fear.
“Whenever you are,” I nod back to her even though her gaze was locked squarely onto the helpless ants before her.
Tabitha doesn’t say anything in return before her sword glows ominously. It’s hard to describe, but it’s like I’m back in the clearing with the winged serpent charging at me for its final attack. I blink, and the sensation is gone, but that doesn't stop my hand from instinctively moving towards the hammer on my back.
Was it overkill for Tabitha to use her new tier 5 skill on enemies this weak?
Yes.
Did she care?
Not in the slightest.
The mana in the air between us feels like it’s vibrating as she grips her sword with both hands, and I can’t help but instinctively take a step back, even though we aren't anywhere close to each other. Tabitha’s movements were deliberately slow as she adjusted her stance. And then it happens.
One second, she’s standing in front of the three ants; the next, Tabitha’s behind them, her sword extended in a slashing gesture. And the ants— They explode violently from the force behind her slash, just like the last group had.
As chunks of chitin and viscera fall like hail around her, Tabitha lets out a disappointed sigh and sheathes her sword as she observes her handiwork. “Another failure,” she says disparagingly.
“If you call this failure,” I roll my eyes as I playfully kick a chunk of chitin towards her feet and grin supportively as I close the distance between us. While I do that, ghostly hands erupt from my back and begin to gather the ant's experience points. “Did you at least level your skill again?” I ask her.
“No,” Tabitha shakes her head tiredly. She burned through more Stamina killing the ants with that one swing than she did the entire time fighting them.
“It’s harder to control than expected.” I watch her flex her hands absently with a far-off look, like she is trying to recreate the feeling of swinging her sword in her head.
In the meantime, I glance at the devastation around us. In hindsight, I now understand why Tabitha was disappointed when she unlocked Sense Soul as her first tier 5 skill back then. Sense Soul was a great skill, but it was nowhere near as flashy as her new one, and that was with her doing her best to hold back.
Tier 5 attack skills were no joke; it was easy to see why everyone badly wanted one. Even I felt a teeny-weeny bit jealous every time I watched Tabitha use it, and I had two tier 5 skills of my own. It would be amazing if I could eventually unlock one, too, but something told me that wouldn't happen any time soon.
Skills tended to build off one another, and I hadn't even unlocked Hammer Mastery yet, so I wasn’t holding my breath. However, that didn’t mean I couldn’t live vicariously through Tabitha and her achievements for a change.
“Still too hard to control, huh?” I nod in understanding.
“Every time I use it, it’s like my sword is forcefully drawing the energy out of me,” Tabitha frowned down at her hands. “And once my mana and Stamina are concentrated within, I’m forced to release all of it at once. There’s no stopping it.”
It's kinda funny, I think to myself, but don’t let it show on my face. Tabitha, the poster child of overkill, was doing her best to hold back. Every skill I’ve ever unlocked, I’ve always tried to make them stronger to level them, and here Tabitha was doing the opposite.
I’m not saying she’s wrong; I just find it a bit funny coming from her.
It made sense why she was trying to do things this way; as she was, Tabitha could only use her skill once before, essentially needing an hour or so to cool down, almost like she was using an ultimate move in a video game. Either way, I encourage her.
“Sound’s difficult, but I know you’ll get the hang of it,” I do my best to support Tabitha as her apprentice and friend. After all, if anyone could sympathize with her plight, it was me. Her skill might not be as dangerous as Soul Devourer, but I could understand what it was like to have a skill not entirely under your control.
Speaking of which, I deactivated Soul Devourer after absorbing as much of the ant’s experience points as my skill allowed me to before it could start urging me to attack Tabitha while her back was turned— As if that would even work in the first place. Whatever sentience Soul Devourer had, it certainly wasn’t very smart, in my opinion.
Then again, maybe I was the stupid one, and it was purposely playing the fool.
After all, I entered The Endless Forest terrified of using Soul Devourer, and here I was, using it at the drop of a hat. It was so ridiculous I could almost laugh, but that's life for you.
I’m still sensibly cautious of my tier 6 skills, but I now have a goal to work towards, and the only way I’ll reach it is by utilizing everything available to me. That includes using my two tier 6 skills. And it only took me almost losing Tabitha to remind me why I pushed myself so hard in the first place.
I used to see my success as passively helping my family, but now that I could literally transfer experience points to people, I could take things a step further. So, I didn't care how much I felt like Anakin Skywalker halfway through the third Star Wars film. It didn’t matter if an evil voice was whispering in my ear; so long as I didn’t metaphorically turn to the Darkside, everything should be okay—
Right?
“What do I always tell you about dropping your guard and getting lost in that big brain of yours?” A reasonably strong chop to the head pulls me from my thoughts.
Standing in front of me with her hand outstretched was Tabitha. “Only one of us can be disappointed at once,” she jokingly deadpans, instantly turning my frown into a smile.
If I’m Anikin, then does that make Tabitha my Obi-Wan? I half-smile/half-grimace while tenderly rubbing the spot she hit. “Thanks, I needed that,” I tell her.
“Anytime.” Tabitha gives me a single nod of approval before offering me her hand.
Still grinning, I take her hand into my own. Leave it to Tabitha to make me feel better with only a few short words, but that's not why we shook hands. “And here’s your portion, minus the universal tax, of course.”
It didn’t surprise me that instead of laughing at my little joke, Tabitha chose to roll her eyes as if exasperated instead of laughing at my little joke. Geeze, so what if this was the tenth time I'd made it? She could at least do me the courtesy of faking a smile. Instead, Tabitha stood stone-faced as I transferred over her half of the experience points I absorbed—No soul hand to the chest needed.
“Your jokes are terrible, but I’ll take them over the alternative,” Tabitha blandly comments as she pulls her hand back once the warmth of my skill fades.
“That makes two of us,” I wholeheartedly agree with her.
While Tabitha struggled to hold back with her skill, I was learning a lot about Experience Transfer and Soul Devourer and how they worked on a fundamental level. My most significant discovery so far, arguably the most important ever, was that I didn't need to use my ghostly Soul Devourer hands to facilitate the transfer of experience in the first place.
I made the discovery a week ago when patting Tabitha on the back for killing a large spider trying to ambush us. It sort of just happened in the moment by accident, but it made sense once I stopped and thought about it.
I mean, Experience Transfer would be a pretty shitty skill if you needed another, arguably stronger, tier 6 skill to use it.
Ultimately, all Experience Transfer needed was a bit of physical contact with my intended recipient—a.k.a— Tabitha.
From what I could tell, it works because while the soul's core is located in a person's chest, its outer fringes fill the body.
So, in a sense, when two people touch each other, their souls briefly come into contact. This phenomenon explains why most skills are touch-based or stronger the closer a person is to their target.
It’s a good thing I learned this before I tried transferring experience to anyone other than Tabitha. Plus, it had the unintended benefit of drastically reducing the time that Soul Devourer needed to be activated, a massive win in my book.
"Alright, let's get a move on," Tabitha was quick to try and walk away, and we both knew why.
“Not so fast.” I Flash Stepped in front of her with my hands on my hips. Tabitha could’ve done the same to get around me, but she didn’t.
"Must we continue to do this?" She audibly sighs.
“Come on, you know the drill. I waited patiently for fifteen minutes while you had your fun with the ants. The least you can do is spare one for Math’s sake.”
"You know you can be insufferable at times? If we must," Tabitha begrudgingly complied. “How much did you send over this time?”
Because I knew the ants’ levels, it was easy to estimate the total number of experience points they should have had between them, around two and a half million, give or take.
Until now, I've primarily used Soul Devourer on targets I didn't know the level of or didn't have a big enough sample size to work with and, therefore, couldn't calculate anything. But thanks to Tabitha’s tendency towards violence and a forest full of weaker, hungry scavengers who don’t know any better, I’ve finally managed to put some numbers behind my skills.
And my conclusion was shocking: From what I could deduce, Soul Devourer was growing exponentially stronger with every level.
When we killed the winged serpent, Soul Devourer was only level 18, and it felt like I absorbed around 18% of its total experience. I could’ve absorbed more, but Tabitha and I had reached our intake limits by that point, forcing me to stop or risk damaging our souls.
I could only imagine how overpowered Soul Devourer would be if I could absorb more than 45% of my overall soul's worth of experience without any danger, but I digress.
After the battle, Soul Devourer jumped to level 21, and after some experimentation, thanks to Tabitha, I calculated I could now absorb 29.8% of a target's overall experience.
Since then, I’ve used Soul Devourer multiple times on different groups of enemies after Tabitha was finished with them, and each time my math has held up. It took a lot of speculation on my part and a whole lot of help from my Mathematics and Measurement skills, but I think I’ve successfully figured out the rate at which Soul Devourer was increasing:
Level 1: .1% Absorption rate
Level 2: .3% Absorption rate
Level 3: .6% Absorption rate
Level 4: 1% Absorption rate
Level 5: 1.5% Absorption rate
Level 6: 2.1% Absorption rate
Level 7: 2.8% Absorption rate
Level 8: 3.6% Absorption rate
Level 9: 4.5% Absorption rate
Level 10: 5.5% Absorption rate
Level 11: 6.7% Absorption rate
Level 12: 8.1% Absorption rate
Level 13: 9.7% Absorption rate
Level 14: 11.5% Absorption rate
Level 15: 13.5% Absorption rate
Level 16: 15.7% Absorption rate
Level 17: 18.1% Absorption rate
Level 18: 20.7% Absorption rate
Level 19: 23.5% Absorption rate
Level 20: 26.5% Absorption rate
Level 21: 29.8% Absorption rate
If I'm right, when Soul Devourer reaches level 22, I should be able to absorb 33.4% of a defeated target's experience. And even if I’m wrong and the absorption rate remains the same from here on out, I'll reach 100% long before Soul Devourer reaches level 100.
But if that's true, what will happen once I go beyond that point? I couldn't absorb more than what was already there.
I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.
Regardless, of the three ants' 2.5 million experience, I absorbed 745 thousand. “I sent you 372.5 thousand experience," I tell Tabitha while crunching numbers in my head like a human calculator. "How much of that did you get?"
"Give me a second to check," Tabitha sighed again as she pulled up her status page.
“Let’s see…. I got 208.6 thousand,” Tabitha told me after a second. “That’s—" She paused to make a sour face.
“56%,” I finish for her. “That tracks.”
Unlike Soul Devourer, which hasn't leveled since the winged serpent incident, Experience Transfer has leveled twice since then, confirming that it’s been increasing by .5% at each level. Compared to Soul Devourer, which started as basically nothing, Experience Transfer started at 50.5% but has increased at a much more reasonable steady rate.
While I was happy to calculate the numbers, Tabitha couldn’t stop herself from frowning, signaling what was coming next.
And right on cue, "I wish you would stop doing this. I’m thankful, but it’s wasteful. It would be better for both of us if you keep it all for yourself,” Tabitha glowers at me.
A short ‘no’ was right on the tip of my tongue, but I knew it wouldn’t change anything. I’d still give Tabitha her half the next time, and she’d ask me to stop again. Instead, I tell her I’ll think about it if only not to have the same conversation again.
I tried multiple times explaining to her that the only way I would improve Experience Transfer was by using it, only to have my arguments fall on deaf ears.
Sure, it sucked essentially wasting that much experience, but if you looked at it another way, I was only playing with points neither of us would’ve earned in the first place. At least, that's how I saw things. But I was being naively foolish to Tabitha, even if it meant
she would stop receiving my help.
In the end, I try not to think about it much. I already decided that I was going to share everything with Tabitha 50-50, whether she agreed to it or not. I even told her as much; that's why she didn't hesitate to offer me her hand. Tabitha knew I'd keep a running tally of what I owed her if she didn't and give it to her when she wasn't expecting it, like when she was sleeping.
A few nights ago, I had to do just that to prove a point. Tabitha was pissed at me for a while afterwards, of course, but at least she hasn’t outright refused me since.
Thankfully, the somewhat tense mood between us only lasts as long as it takes me to walk over to our sled. Grabbing the ugly ropes I fashioned, I start pulling our sled again while Tabitha takes up guard duty next to me, the same way we’ve been traveling for a while now. It's mindless work, only made worse by the silence.
We've long since run out of conversation topics a while ago, so mostly, we spend the time traveling in silence, with sporadic conversations with no real meaning sprinkled in whenever.
Mostly, I just enjoy the scenery and the sounds of the forest. I try not to brag because Tabitha likes to roll her eyes when I do, but I’ve gotten pretty good at identifying specific bird calls and the scurrying of large insect legs.
Besides that, I like checking my status page to pass the time. Not much has changed since we killed the winged serpent, but it's still fun to watch my level increase as fast as it has now that I'm using Soul Devourer more often.
LV: 96 Experience: 1,373,363/ 2,938,772
Health: 3,000/3,000
Stamina: 1,894.68/2,000
Mana: 1,294.34/1,300
Vitality: 300.02
Endurance: 100.48
Strength: 200.08
Dexterity: 200.00
Senses: 62.89
Mind: 65.77
Magic: 130.13
Clarity: 79.51
Status Points: 48
Tier 1:
Meditation (LV81), Running (LV80), Blacksmithing (LV76), Hammer Skills (LV72), Axe Skills (LV60), Cleaning (LV60), Chanting (LV54), Mining (LV51), Cooking (LV50), Drawing (LV48), Trading (LV48), Sword Skills (LV40), Wood Carving (LV37), Sewing (LV37), Acting (LV36), Dagger Skills (LV36), Dancing (LV35), Pugilist Skills (LV16), Alchemy (LV15), Spear Skills (LV2)
Tier 2:
Sense Mana (LV81), Double Step (LV69), Hammer Arts (LV51), Measurement (LV51), Charm (LV50), Axe Arts (LV39), Steady Hands (LV37), Mathematics (LV36), Intimidating Shout (LV34), Writing (LV32), Increase Price (LV22), Lower Price (LV20), Gourmet (LV19), Sword Arts (LV17), Dagger Arts (LV13), Marching (LV11), Shout of Valor (LV3), Pugilist Arts (LV1)
Tier 3:
Mana Manipulation (LV67), Expel Mana (LV64), Weighted Strike (LV48), Double Strike (LV46), Precise Strike (LV46), Flash Step (LV40), Contract (LV22), Poison Resistance (LV14), Enchanting (LV12), Heat Resistance (Lv3)
Tier 4:
Mental Resistance (LV63), Mana Skin (LV61), Inject Mana (LV57), Extract Mana (LV40), Magic Blacksmithing (LV38), Magic Threads (LV34), Air Walk (LV24), Empowered Spell (LV23), Ironclad Agreement (LV8), Multi-Strike (LV10), Appealing Deal (LV3),
Tier 5:
Sense Soul (LV42), Soul Manipulation (LV25)
Tier 6:
Soul Devourer (LV21), Experience Transfer (LV12)
Increased Skill Levels
Cooking (LV48-50) 7,350exp
Wood Carving (LV37) 1,850exp
Dagger Skills (LV36) 1,800exp
Sewing (LV35-37) 5,400exp
Measurement (LV51) 5,100exp
Mathematics (LV36) 3,600exp
Gourmet (LV17-19) 5,400exp
Marching (LV6-11) 5,100exp
Soul Manipulation (LV25) 12,500exp
Experience Transfer (LV11-12) 23,000exp
Skill Experience: 71,100exp
Crafting Experience: 10,249exp
Fighting Experience: 10,071,718exp
Total Experience Gained: 10,153,067exp
It was funny to watch my lesser-used skills level due to all the tedious work I've been tasked with, like fashioning the sled and cooking for us every night. But mainly, I pull my full page up because I have nothing else to do. The only thing that changes regularly is the experience points I get from Tabitha's kills.
This last ant attack marked the eleventh time we’ve had to stop because of scavengers. Levels and group size varied between encounters, but overall, we’ve killed thirty magic beasts in total, netting me a considerable amount of experience, though still not as much as what I got from the winged serpent.
It wasn’t fair that Tabitha didn’t get as much as me, but she’s still made out like a bandit with a little over 5.5 million more experience, significantly closing the gap between her next level up.
We were going to turn a lot of heads once we made it back to the village and many more when we headed for Scholl.
Since it was pointless to worry about it at this point, it would be cool if I could reach level 100 before we left the magic-dense region, but it was looking more and more like that wouldn't happen.
If we attacked the ant nest, it might be possible, but that would be backtracking, and we were already late as is. Plus, I still very much didn't want to go looking for trouble if I could help it; it made justifying killing the ones that do attack us that much easier, and I didn't want to turn into a murder hobo this soon after coming to terms with using Soul Devourer. That, and I didn’t want to get any greedier than I already am.
I’ll take what the universe provides and won't throw a fit when it doesn’t pan out like I hope. It made sense to look at it that way because with each step, we were a little bit farther away from The Endless Forest's center, and the monsters we encountered were slowly getting weaker.
Out of the four groups of ants that attacked us, only three individuals were level 47. In comparison, when we were deeper in the forest, the monsters that attacked us were in the mid-60s, with one particularly nasty one at level 73, but he was the worst.
There were still strong magic beasts in this part of the forest, but all of them were too smart to attack us.
We still had a lot of ground to cover, so we'd probably run into a handful more beasts, but they were more of a hindrance than a boon at this point.
Our adventure was fast reaching its conclusion, and to be honest, I’m happy to be done with it. I could already picture Spotted Creek Village in my head, warm and inviting.
I could see my parents standing in front of me with open arms, welcoming me home after countless weeks in the forest. And gods help me; I could envision my simple— comfy— bed.
It almost made a person want to rush ahead and say fuck-it to the materials altogether…. Okay, that was too much. It would take an act of divine intervention to get me to give up on our haul after bringing it all this way, and I knew, for one, that that wasn't allowed.
Still, maybe we could move a bit faster if I distributed a few of my free status points; I had almost 50.
No, better hold off for now. Let’s see how the last leg of our journey goes first.
Look out, bed—I mean home, here we come!
“Looks like we have another group of ants incoming,” Tabitha interrupts my glorious ending monologue with barely concealed glee.
“Fuck!” I scream at the top of my lungs.
**********
Author's Notes:
First off, my mother is fine. Her surgery went great; the only thing is, I'm the only one home with her most of the time and have been looking after her while she recovers. Combine all that with the ridiculous amount of numbers I had to go through to make this chapter in this chapter and you might see why it took me so long to get it out.
I understand if not all of you are number's people, but this chapter was a long time coming. There were a lot of questions about the amount of experience Aaliyah and Tabitha got at the end of the Winged Serpent chapters, and I needed to finally define in hard numbers what Aaliyah's tier 6 skills could do to avoid discrepancies in the future.
Alright, justification over. The next chapter should be out on Friday. I’m also hoping to have Ch: 10's rewrite out later today or tomorrow morning if I can help it for a bit of extra content.
Thanks for reading, and as always, stay safe. And please, please, please comment on what you think of the chapter below.