Toxic Stats

Cithrel rested in the shade, as she watched the bust paths. This world was different from the one she had came from. No motorized vehicle caused mayhem. No fumes filled the otherwise refreshing air.

The sky was not the blue she had stared at from her window, as she dreamed more about the life outside of her city. As she thought about what it would been like to face other gamers face to face, then only through illusions and screens.

Her goal was to beat this game. Yet, she knew that was still out of reach as she had not yet figured the beginning out.

Dungeons; dragons; adventures.

With a move of her hand, Cithrel pulled up a screen. She stared at the stats points she had yet to add. Would they allow her to achieve her goals? She was very sure that would be the case.

Only fools didn't add them the first chance. And she was a fool for thinking that she could do it later.

She had always changed classes, never really sticking to one. She had quickly grown bored of their limits that each game had forced onto the user. And thus, she only knew the bare minimal for the classes in this game.

Cithrel had thought she would have been able to pick it by this point. Would it not make sense to spawn in with a set class?

The tip of her lips curved into a slight smile.

"How do I gain a class?"

[Classes are given to adventures who reach level five and join a guild.]

"What if I don't join a guild?"

[You will be unable to get a class.]

"How do I level up?"

[There are many ways to gain experience. The most used is fighting monsters.]

Cithrel smile lessoned. "I can't do that with no gear."

It wasn't completely true. She just didn't want to run the risk of dying.

"Will my class change depending on my stats?"

She hadn't treated System 666 like it had been a normal AI, but a being who is able to give quick witty answers, while also trying to doom her future.

[No.]

Cithrel didn't believe the voice, even as she looked at the stats. She tapped the screen, her eyes drifting to the crowd streets once more. Without gear, there was still one hope of being able to fight without bare fists.

One move that she could get.

Her stats screen slowly began to change as some of the numbers were given out.

[Strength] [2]

[Dexterity] [3]

[Constitution] [5]

[Intelligence] [1]

[Wisdom] [4]

[Charisma] [0]

(Stat Points: 3)

With three points left to use, Cithrel held on adding on more.

A ding sounded. She looked at the notification.

[Skill Learned: Shielding]

[Skill Learned: Rites of a Summoner]

[Skill Learned: Rites of a Necromancer]

[Skill Learned: Rites of a Elementalist]

Her frown deepened. She had simply added points to different areas, yet had learned skills. She couldn't believe it would be that easy.

"What is Rites of Summoner?"

Her inventory began to change in front of her, adding a place to show the equipped spells. She selected the screen to see more of her magic. The names appeared, with no descriptions. Most appeared with "rites" though she didn't understand how that could be in a spell.

"Isn't rites just a passage?"

She clicked her tongue when she received no answer.

"System 666."

[How can I help you?]

"What is Rites of Summoner?"

[A rite is a practice or social custom for something. Here in City C, Those who have decided to follow the path of magician must undergo a rite to be able to see if they are able to use Mana, also known as Life Force.]

"Do they also get a spell like that?"

[Because you are a player, it comes in the form of a skill that you can unlock. By doing certain tasks, you are then able to further go into that area. Rites of the Summoner requires many things. One of which is to find a companion. However, you may proceed to try and still use the skill. If unsuccessful, while also not meeting the requirements, you will never be able to use the skill.]

"What are my chances of succeeding for any of them?"

[Rites of a Summoner succession are 33%... Rites of Necromancer 2%.... Rites of Elementalist 87%.]

Cithrel nodded as she looked at the streets.

"What are Demogorgons?"

She highly doubted it was something that she could easily find and defeat in this area.

[In this region Demogorgons are two-headed demons, with the body of an ape. They are the main attack force from the Thundering Mountains.]

"Main attack force?"

Like the last time she had lingered in a spot for too long, Cithrel headed for lost fountain. In the hour that had passed, she has been unable to find it.

[Beasts from the mountains are constantly attacking the town. Those who live here are the defenders. As long as this town remains, it will continue to shield the country from any invasions from this direction.]

"Which of the rites work best against them?"

She kept mainly to allies, being only on the populated roads when she didn't have a choice in the matter. As she moved more around, slowly trying to learn the directions, the more names she started too see with red. Names that had a vague sense of familiarity to them.

[All classes can work against Demogorgons.]

"But?"

[But it depends on the player and how they use it. Summoners are typical best when it comes to mountain demogorgons because they are able to summon a number of beasts to help them. Most living beasts.]

"What is the draw back?"

Cithrel didn't have a reason to ask that question, but she knew that if this was anything like earth, she couldn't only just take something. There was no one-sided wins.

[However, if a summoner does not create a strong enough contract or have high enough Dexterity and Charisma, their summons can be used against them. In some cases amongst Demongorgons here, summons have been known to change sides, even with players how have extremally high stats.]

She flinched at the notion of that happening to her.

"What about Elementalists?"

[Elementalists are rare in Dragonare. They are, however, quiet strong. Which makes them deadly against Demongorgons.]

The half-elf like the sound of that. She could already see herself mainly using fire magic to get rid of the beasts in her way. Though, she knew she would still have to level up to get a good fire skill.

"I want to activate that one."

She knew it was the best choice. If summons could be turned against her, then she would use other means of magic. Without weapons, this was the one route she could do. The one thing that she had just in her reach that didn't make her like NPCs.

[I would advi--]

"What's the best place to go for that? I assume that I would know if it worked in a battle."

She didn't need to know what the system would suggest. She already had her mind set on that one. With such a high percentage, she couldn't see it not working in her favor. But, just like in the future for other skills, Cithrel was soon to learn that few things would go the way she wanted.

[The plains outside of City W is recommended.]

With a nod, Cithrel followed the roads in search of a gate. She planned to find something low level. Something that her shield skill would be good against as she became a Elementalists.