Chapter 8 [More Notes | Kyle]

“Without you it’s hard to suuurrviiivveee!” Kyle slammed his elbow down on what he thought was the face of a Stage Three Mineral Slime. “’Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling, an’ every time we kiss, I swear I can flyyy!”

He noticed one of the many rocks floating within the ooze start to rise toward the surface. Unhurriedly, he took two steps back and a single step to his left. A second later, the stone flew from the Slime where he’d been pummeling just a few seconds prior. His leg whipped out, tearing away a large chunk of semi-hardened goo before he stepped back in to resume his beating.

“Can’t ya feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last! I need ya by my side!” It only took another three hits for the beast to collapse, and with practiced ease, he snatched up the Core and tossed it in his sqwallet. “Let’s see what we got. Alright! Ain’t seen that’n before.”

[Name | Essence Core]

[Value | 22]

[Description | A Core with strong ties to an earthen element. Can be traded in at Domain Shops or crushed to gain experience equal to the value.]

Kyle opened his first page of notes and penned in the Experience he’d just earned.

[Experience from Slimes]

[Stage 1 | 5 | 6 | 7]

[Stage 2 | 12 | 13 | 14]

[Stage 3 | 19 | 21 | 22]

[Stage 1 Slimes giving half the xp now that I’m Stage 2. No issues with decimals thanks to the bonus from the double time. Will decimals be added into my overall xp after the double time is over? Round up? Round down? No extra xp for killing something a Stage higher? Why?]

Hmm… Thought I was onto something with that jump between nineteen and twenty-one, but I reckon that’s out. He sighed and scratched the back of his neck. Don’t make sense to jump two like that an’ then go back to one. Not that there’s a whole lotta sense goin’ on here anyways… Still, I bet I just ain’t killed a Slime worth twenty yet. Hit another Semi-Stage, though. Huh… ‘nother four hunnerd. So if’n it’s the same as Stage One, the next one’ll take me to Stage Three. Just pen this in here right quick…

[Experience to Level: Human]

[Awakening | 5 Attributes]

[Stage 1 | 100 | 200 | 300 | 11 Attributes]

[Stage 2 | 700 | 1,100 | 1,500 | ??? Attributes]

[Option 1: 100 for Stage 1. 100*4=400 for Stage 2? 1600 for Stage 3..?]

[Option 2: 300 total for Stage 1. 300*5=1500 for Stage 2. 1500*5=7500 for Stage 3?]

[5 Attributes for Awakening. 5 Attributes per Stage. 3 Attributes per Semi-Stage. Will this always be the case? Need to reach Stage 3 to see if this is consistent. Goal before waking Leah? Time?]

Kyle read over his notes on the Human Experience page before flipping back to the already crowded Notes page and adding:

[None of the Stage 1 or 2 Slimes I’ve killed have diverged from the same three amounts of xp per kill. Humans only have 3 Semi-Stages in Stage 1. Coincidence? Stage 2 same? Need to reach Stage 3 to confirm.]

Satisfied, he had Iroh flip over to page one and looked at a rusty red Slime more than five yards away. After having gotten his Resilience to twenty, he put the last two points in Acuity, which had increased his range by another foot—give or take.

[Slime | Stage 3]

[Genus | Heat]

[Tier | 1]

[Health | 70/70]

[Energy | 76/80]

That there’s bait. All o’ these Heat Slimes look to have such low Primary Attributes. Wish I could see its Mana… bet it’s better’n mine. Just another reason to get to Stage Three so I can get that Ability Point. Prolly be better to spend it on True Sight, but I just can’t turn down the numbers. Numbers is important!

Kyle walked confidently toward the Slime. He’d fought a few of the Heat variety and found that their senses were far better than their peers—as was their natural acidic damage—so his method was to hit ‘em fast and hit ‘em hard. Even then, he knew he’d lose at least three points of Health.

The Slime noticed his approach from a couple of yards away and started dragging itself toward him. Not for the first time, he wondered how their senses worked. Ain’t no way it’s got that many more Attributes than me… But its senses seem multiple times better than those others, not just a few percent. Anywhos… it’s got seventy Health, an’ I do around twenty damage a hit. That’s just four good jabs an’ I can get on to the next’n.

There were no special methods. No fancy footwork. Kyle simply drew back, took a step forward, and slammed his fist down into the Slime’s membrane. Though his arm sunk halfway to his elbow, he didn’t quite reach its Core, and he could feel the ooze seeping from the ruptured skin attempt to crawl up his arm. His arm started to itch, and he yanked it back before the beast could cause any real damage, then spared half a second to glance at his opened Grimoire.

[Slime | Stage 3]

[Health | 48/70]

Twenty-two. Let’s see if I can end it in two hits instead o’ one.He took a half-step back and settled into a low, wide stance, with both feet planted firmly on the ground and his legs bent like he was sitting in a saddle. Gods it’s been so many years. This is right, ain’t it? Now, how’d it go? Elbows tight to my sides… forearms to the sky… fists relaxed until just before impact… step forward, an’ twist yer body with the punch.

Kyle led with his right foot, slamming it hard on the ground just in front of the creature. He breathed out and followed the step by turning his hips, slinging his arm forward, then twisting it so that his forearm was facing the ground by the time his fist punched through the viscous film. Without even looking at his Grimoire, he had no doubt that he’d done more damage with that attack by the way the Slime sucked in on itself and sagged to the ground. Still, he needed to know the numbers.

Phluck!

This time, he didn’t even have to yank his arm back. The mucus-like substance pushed him out rather than attempt to pull him in, and the Slime started to drag itself away. Wow… first time I seen that. Really must o’ done somethin’ there.

[Slime | Stage 3]

[Health | 21/70]

Hot damn! Twenty-seven? That’s the most I seen against any o’ these critters. Hell, I ain’t even done that much on the Stage Ones. He punched it again—just a normal punch this time—and watched it fall apart before grabbing its Core. Shame I can’t do that in a real fight. I’d be beat to hell ‘fore I had time to get in a stance. Wish I could remember more o’ that Tae Kwon Do stuff from back in grade school. Kinda remember some o’ the kicks… Reckon I can try them later. Now, what’d we get this time?

[Name | Essence Core]

[Value | 20]

[Description | A Core with strong ties to a gaseous element. Can be traded in at Domain Shops or crushed to gain experience equal to the value.]

Oh, finally got that twenty. I knew it’d be in there somewhere. Now I just gotta figure out whether there’re any Stage Threes that give less than nineteen or more’n twenty-two. I’m… thinkin’ there won’t be none o’ ‘em under nineteen… Notes.

[Experience from Slimes]

[Stage 1 | 5 | 6 | 7]

[Stage 2 | 12 | 13 | 14]

[Stage 3 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22]

Right… now that’s in there, let’s put in a new entry.

[I don’t think it’s a coincidence that there’s a 5 xp jump between the top of Stage 1 and the bottom of Stage 2. Same goes for the top of Stage 2 and the bottom of Stage 3. Haven’t killed a single Slime—Stage 3 or otherwise—that would have given me 18 xp once the double time is over. It also can’t be a coincidence that the lowest Stage Ones I’ve found give 5 xp.

Humans get 5 AP from Awakening. Then I got another 5 when I hit Stage 2. I’m also betting I’ll get 5 when I reach Stage 3. I’ll need to reach Stage 3 to confirm, but I don’t feel as if that number is going to deviate. I have a hunch that the Slimes also receive 5 AP when their Stage increases. If that’s the case… does AP=xp? The Semi-Stages match so far. Scientific method.

Question | Does AP correlate with xp earned?

Research | Slime xp data entry. Done… I think.

Test | Reach Stage 3.

Next step, reach Stage 3. Side note; Have yet to confirm if there are any Slimes in Stage 3 that would give over 22 xp. If above hypothesis turns out to be true, and 22 xp is the final Stage 3, then there are 3 Semi-Stages in Stage 3, which is an increase from the 2 Semi-Stages in both Stages 1 and 2. Why the sudden change? Further experimentation needed. Simple solution, find and kill Stage 4 Slimes and study the differences in xp. End note. Sigh… stop writing! Cancel input or—]

Ah, there we go. That’s interestin’… seems that when I really get to goin’, it ain’t so easy to stop it. Alrighty, Iroh. If’n ya don’t mind, hang up an’ to the left with page one showin’. Anyway to pen in my current xp an’ Primary Attributes at the top or sum’n so’s ya ain’t gotta keep flippin’ pages to—ah, yeah, that’ll do it.

Kyle took stock while walking toward the closest Heat Slime. He wanted to get to Stage Three fast and get back to Leah—it was almost time to see about waking her up—and Heat Slimes with their low Health’s were the way to go.

[Exp | 1,236/1,500 | 6/cycle]

[Health | 316/345 | 10/cycle]

[Energy | 102/160 | 10/cycle]

[Mana | 45/195 | 24/cycle]

Still sittin’ purdy at over three hunnerd Health… No upward ticks or anythin’ yet, either. Reckon my once-a-day hunch was right. Irritatin’ not havin’ the answers to these questions. Deal with it later, now’s the time fer some grindin’.

…

Time passed, and before he knew it, Kyle was halfway back to where he’d first awoken. Though he felt that he could, he wasn’t jogging this time, doing his best to conserve the Energy that he had left. He’d have to carry one—or maybe both—of his kids back to the hill, depending on Leah’s state of mind after he woke her up. That concerned him, but instead of worrying about his bleak future—no matter how near that future might be—he was consulting his Grimoire and feeling annoyed that he couldn’t use his newly earned ‘Tokens’ to learn new Abilities.

[Kyle | Stage 3]

[Race | Humanoid]

[Genus | Human]

[Tier | 3]

[Exp | 2,683/3,300 | 9/cycle]

[Health | 386/440 | 15/cycle]

[Energy | 108/190 | 15/cycle]

[Mana | 90/240 | 45/cycle]

[Resilience | 25]

[Vigor | 5]

[Vitality | 5]

[Force | 5]

[Intuition | 5]

[Acuity | 15]

[AP | 0 (Attribute Points)]

[AAP | 4 (Active Ability Points)]

[IAP | 0 (Innate Ability Points)]

[AAT | 3 (Active Ability Token)]

[IAT | 3 (Innate Ability Token)]

Danged System only lettin’ Iroh learn shit after the fact. Woulda been nice to know ahead o’ time that I gotta get inside a damned Domain to spend these here Tokens. At least I had time to reach the first Semi-Stage in Stage Three. Kyle looked up from his notes long enough to step around one of his neighbor’s bodies before getting back to it.

Learned a lot too. My hypothesis proved correct. AP does indeed equal xp. As fer why the Slimes’re only getting’ one AP per Semi-Stage… I’m thinkin’ it’s ‘cause they’re only Tier One. Humans bein’ Tier Three is why I been gettin’ three per Semi-Stage. Gonna need to kill some Tier Two mobs to confirm it, but that theory’s sound enough. Still don’t know the number o’ Semi-Stages in Stage Three. Only Slimes I ‘spected to be Stage Four were near the Domain entrance. Too many o’ the smaller critters between me an’ them to go check. I ought to—hmm?

He glanced at one of the closer bodies—Shawna, one of the women who frequently brought her daughter over to play. She was dark skinned, toned, and very attractive, with long legs and long, black hair. Kyle grimaced, contemplating whether or not he should before finally walking over, where he gently placed a hand on her ankle, then pushed her legs closed. Fighting to erase the image that had already imprinted itself in his memories, he looked around for her husband, Brad—one of the four that lived in their little neighborhood. The man was lying face down, head in the crook of his arm, snoring loudly. He’d looked just in time to watch his friend scratch his bare ass cheek before falling still.

[Human | Stage 0]

[Health | 100/100]

[Energy | 100/100]

[Mana | 100/100]

Kyle held back a laugh. Well, I saved Shawna a bit of embarrassment, at least. Not a helluva lot I can do fer you. Well, tickled to see those points in Appraisal’re payin’ off. Six yards ain’t bad, an’ its only gonna grow. Can’t figure where that there number’s comin’ from fer the life o’ me though. Still got another ten minutes o’ walkin’ at least. Try an’ use this time to straighten up this jumble I got. Runnin’ out o’ damn room. Notes.

[Priorities:

1 | AP to xp experiment; complete.

With this experiment having become a success, and now feeling pretty positive that I know the xp formula—xp per Semi-Stage=Stage² * 100—I feel comfortable noting that the underlying principles behind this so-called System aren’t random. Whether or not it functions on principles that we as a species understand… well, that’s yet to be determined. I’m still unsure of how the Slimes can even hold themselves together, let alone function. I’m not well-versed enough in biological matters to even start to guess. Being able to see all of their Primary Attributes has helped me to better gain an understanding of the different Genus.

Mire | Mix of Health/Mana

Mineral | Health, Health, and more Health
Heat | Mostly Mana, though some have a bit of Energy
Mist | Nearly even division between Mana and Energy

I’ll need to know what each of the other Attributes do before determining the ‘build’ of these creatures. I’m not willing to fudge my own build, even for the sake of science, not when there are others who I can ask later. Until I’ve seen what types of Abilities are offered and how Attributes affect what’s available, I’ll stay the course. Speaking of staying the course, I got off track here. Back to priorities.

2 | Wake Leah.

3 | Get to the Slime farm ASAP.

4 | Hope some Stage 4’s are nurtured while I’m gone

4 5 | On the way back, try to determine how the System calculates the Range of Appraisal.

5 4 | Create a legend for what letters I’ll use for the different variables.

6 | Kill some Stage 4’s or reach Stage 4, whichever comes first.

7 | Attempt to determine how the System calculates damage… (Not getting my hopes up)]

Good ‘nuff fer now. Need to make more pages, too, but not ‘til I’m recoverin’ Mana faster. Thinkin’ I’ll be good to make more at a hunnerd per cycle? No way to know ‘til I see some Abilities. Kyle looked up and moved his neck around until it had cracked a couple of times. Crazy I’m hardly tired after all that. Gettin’ pretty hungry, though.

“Iroh, you sure you can’t tell me any o’ the formulas I’m after?” he asked for what had to be the fourth time.

[I’m sorry, but it isn’t in my power to do so. I receive the end result and deliver it to you in a language that you can understand. What happens before that is beyond me. Should you make an attempt to understand the System, I can give you the end results of any calculations you ask me to make.]

“That’s alright. Ain’t nuttin’ wrong with doin’ it the hard way. We can—shit, what’s…” Movement from the edge of his vision caught his attention, and Kyle jerked his head away from the pages to find… “Maeve..? Maeve! You’re awake!”

“Daddy!”

He rushed forward and swooped down to pick up the little girl. Her brown hair trailed in the wind as he spun her around, and the sweet sound of her laughter drove away any worry he’d had that they wouldn’t be able to make it here. Maeve didn’t have a care in the world. Well, except one… When Kyle tried to hug her, she pushed him away—hard.

“Eww! Put me down!” She wriggled around wildly until Kyle set her down gently on the grass. “You’re so nasty! Why do you smell like Greyson’s shoes?”

“Ha! Hahaha!” he burst with laughter and tried to scoop her up again, but she ducked under his arms and stamped her feet. “Alright, alright, Littles. I’ll stop tryin’ to get ya dirty.”

“Hmph! You promise?”

“I promise,” Kyle assured her.

“Good. Now, you gotta help me make mommy wake up,” Maeve demanded. “I tried for a little bit. Why’s she sleeping? How come we ain’t got any clothes? Where are we? Why is there a book following you? And why are you so dirty?”

“Heh. I’ll try to answer all yer questions in a bit, sweetheart.” Kyle beckoned her to follow him, and they walked to where Leah was still sleeping soundly, with Rowan nestled up beside her. “Let’s wake mommy up first, so I won’t have to say everythin’ more’n once, alright?”

“How ya gonna do that?” she asked, and Kyle looked to see her drawing in a patch of dirt nearby. She looked up, fixed her eyes on Iroh, then looked back down and continued tracing out a rectangular figure. There were already quite a few pictures traced into the ground, showing just how long she’d already been awake.

Hmm… It’s ain’t been but six minutes since the thirty-six hour mark… Another mystery, I reckon. Now, how’m I s’posed to wake Leah up? Kyle looked at her, and his eyes went straight to the scar on her stomach. She was at peace, and he was almost scared to ruin that now that he was here… but it had to be done. I gotta cause at least a point o’ damage… What..? Am I s’posed to hit ‘er or somethin’? I ain’t gonna hit my—Oh… that could work.

Carefully, he moved Rowan a couple of feet away, then gently rolled Leah onto her stomach. He briefly admired her curves and the way her thighs rose to shape her perfectly round ass, then rubbed his palms together.

Oh, this is gonna be sooo good.