PftA Book 5 - Chapter 22 - Tempering Expectations

“If you want to be involved in dealing with the undead, I can certainly put you in contact with the ones in charge,” Anya said amicably after explaining that she didn’t think I’d want any more to do with the fallout from the war now that it was over.

I felt an impulse to offer my assistance since that seemed like the right thing to do. But before I could make the offer, Anya held up a hand to let me know she wasn’t finished speaking.

“However, I don’t recommend tying up your limited amount of time in such endeavors,” the Fate Mage said. “The teams we have dealing with the issue are more than capable without your assistance. While another Space Mage would be nice to have, I don’t think the cost to you would outweigh the minor benefits the Alliance would gain from your efforts.”

Her comment surprised me. I would have thought another Tier Nine fighter would have made a significant difference, with or without my ability to provide another source of transportation.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Anya continued, leaning back in her office chair. “Any assistance is helpful, but you’ve got a lot to do and not much time before you need to return to the dungeon. I imagine your family would prefer you spend time with them instead of teleporting around the realm in search of pockets of undead.

“Also, there are other tasks you would be better served focusing on instead of worrying about a threat that is already being handled.”

I tilted my head curiously and asked, “Like what?”

“Like skill training.”

I narrowed my eyes at her comment. I’d done a lot of skill training, so I wasn’t quite sure what she was alluding to.

“I’m taking classes through the sect,” I said, unconsciously crossing my arms in front of my chest. I caught the defensive motion and forced my hands back into my lap.

“That’s good,” Anya said with a nod. “But you might want to reconsider which classes you spend your time on after I tell you what Onan and I discovered.”

“Onan?” I asked. I wasn’t familiar with the name.

“That’s the new Fate Mage we acquired from the Collective,” Anya said. Her eyes sparkled with excitement and maybe a little mischief.

“The orc they called the Prophet?” I asked.

I remembered seeing him being brought into Council Headquarters as a prisoner at the end of the war, but I wasn’t aware that Anya was now working with him.

“That’s him,” Anya said with a grin. “I think I told you this already, but his Fate affinity is exceptional. He has the highest affinity for Fate magic in recorded history. And let me tell you, it makes a HUGE difference when trying to Glimpse beyond this realm.”

Anya was practically bouncing with excitement at this point. I’d never seen her so animated before. She almost looked like a teenager, though I knew she was several centuries old.

“You were able to see into the next realm?” I asked with wide eyes.

Her face split into a wide grin, and Anya nodded. “We did! We performed a ritual from one of the older books in the archive. With it, we were able to learn more than any other Fate Mage has ever recorded.

“Honestly, Onan could have probably managed the whole ritual on his own, but it was designed to target the caster, and I’ll ascend long before he will. Since timeframes matter when using Fate magic, I was the focus of the ritual, with Onan providing most of the power and guidance.”

“And what did you discover?” I asked.

“The most important things we learned or verified were that there will be no affinities, only one race, ascenders can only keep one skill or spell per affinity, and that the number of skills or spells you can have supported through the system is limited.

“It was also clear that gaining magical skills was very difficult, bordering on impossible, without either being rich enough to pay someone to train you or getting lucky enough to find a skillbook in one of the dungeons.

“And they aren’t like the Realm Dungeon,” Anya clarified. “Dungeons in the next realm are more like multi-floor rifts where you get rewarded for each floor you clear.”

“Like some of the fantasy novels from pre-integration Earth,” I said, nodding.

It made a certain sort of sense that the next realm would follow a different trope in the same fantasy genre, considering how much of what used to be considered fiction had become reality in the last decades.

“I wouldn’t know,” Anya replied. “Anyway, truly knowing a skill lets you ‘learn’ it at a much higher initial level. You can still do things without an actual skill – like cooking, for example – but you’ll be limited in how good the outcome will be.

“Since you’ll almost definitely be ascending before too long, I recommend you start brushing up on the skills you’ll likely need the most. Try not to rely on the system’s assistance, and take special care to practice the things you only know because of the system. I don’t think that system-granted knowledge will transfer, so if you haven’t truly incorporated it, you’ll probably lose it.”

“How many skills will we be able to use?” I asked.

“I’m not sure,” Anya said. “I don’t think it’s a lot. Less than ten, most likely. But I think you get new skill slots as you gain levels. That’s a little vaguer, but I’m pretty sure it works that way.”

Ten skills were not a lot. In fact, if spells counted as skills, that was hardly anything at all.

“You said we get to keep one skill or spell per affinity?” I questioned.

“That was the impression I got,” Anya agreed.

“Does that count toward the ten skill limit?”

Anya pressed her lips together before responding. “I…don’t think so? To be safe, though, you might want to assume it does. It’s better to assume the worst, right?”

My mind was reeling. Ten skills and spells. Total. How would I even prepare for something like that? Should I start training only the skills I want to use in the next realm, or should I give myself as wide a base as possible?

I’d still be able to use whatever knowledge and experience I gain, even if I didn’t get a system-supported skill for them.

Maybe I could do both?

“How do I know what skills I’ll need?” I asked. “What’s the next realm actually like?”

“From what I saw, it’s basically the same as here,” Anya replied. “There are towns and cities, people have jobs… a lot of people don’t bother gaining levels. In fact, I think even fewer people level in the next realm than here. The town was full of people who only had low single-digit levels.”

Anya filled me in a bit more on what to expect when I eventually ascended. Because she only got glimpses of things and not a full understanding of how things would be, there was still some uncertainty about how to prepare, but at least I knew more than I did before.

“Oh, one other thing I wanted to talk to you about,” Anya said when she’d run out of things to tell me about the next realm. “You really shouldn’t expect to ascend with Kai.”

“Why do you say that?” I asked curiously. I still hadn’t totally made up my mind on the topic, so having Anya tell me not to expect it was a bit of a surprise.

Anya shuffled a little uncomfortably. Her previous excitement was nowhere to be found.

“He’s probably going to join you in the dungeon once you get to the tenth floor,” she began.

He’d mentioned the possibility of entering the dungeon to keep me company and to take advantage of the trial, but it wasn’t something I’d been counting on.

As nice as it would be to have a companion during the long slog that I was sure the tenth floor would turn into, the dungeon hadn’t seemed inclined to support companionship after the sixth floor.

The seventh floor had just been the beginning with its solo labyrinths. The eighth floor had allowed people to work together, but made it more difficult by constantly drawing beasts whenever more than one person gathered. The only exception was the monthly challenger market.

I could only imagine that the ninth floor would have continued that trend, which made me think the tenth floor wouldn’t be any better in that regard.

Maybe I was wrong, but as Anya had just mentioned, it was better to be prepared for the worst than disappointed when things didn’t work out the way you’d hoped.

“Kai is hoping to gain another affinity so his options are better when he ascends,” Anya continued, attempting to explain. “He’s an actual Pinnacle, so the insight he’d gain from a new affinity would almost certainly push him over the edge and force him to ascend. That type of experience isn’t something you can bank. It automatically applies.”

“Have you told him that?” I asked.

“I mentioned it,” she said. “But even if he waits and you take the trial at the same time, you still won’t likely ascend together. You have a different path – a more important path that will make a huge difference to the people of this realm.”

“I don’t understand,” I said. “If we take the trial at the same time, why wouldn’t we be able to ascend together? I’m not saying that’s what I plan to do, but I don’t understand why it would be prevented.”

“I can’t answer that,” Anya told me. “It’s not because I don’t want to,” she clarified. “It’s because the dungeon blocks a lot. Honestly, it’s only because I share blood with Kai that I can see as much as I do. And what I see is him succeeding in his efforts to gain a second affinity and ascending immediately – without you.

“Why you won’t be with him is beyond my sight, but it doesn’t change things. I just wanted you to be prepared so you aren’t caught off guard when things don’t go as you planned.”

While I was still confused about why the dungeon would prevent us from ascending together if that was our desire, I appreciated the warning. Knowing it was a likely outcome meant I could prepare myself mentally.

Tempering expectations was important.

“Thanks for letting me know,” I said after a moment. “And thanks for the information about the next realm. I’m still not sure how to prepare, but you’ve given me a lot to think about.”