Chapter 36: The things that happened.

Yafel and Yafe ran away from as fast as they could go, Giggling. I cast my invisibility magic and create my clone simultaneously, my [Twin Minds] taking over the second body with masterful ease.

My longer legs carry me further, and I soon overtook my sisters, still thinking I was behind them. Once I am far enough in front of them I reveal myself.

"Rawr! Got you now!" I caught them in a hug then start tickling their sensitive sides.

"N-No fa-fair!" Yafel says between laughs.

"You didn't use sense mana, did you? It's your own fault!"

"But it hurts to use it!" Yafe complains. Fair enough. It was because it hurt that I didn't use it and then got [True Sight]

I did what I could for them, even using [Mana Manipulation] to create a less dense area, so it was only unpleasant for them.

"The pain will only go away as you level your first breakthrough. You are already at level six in it so it really shouldn't hurt all that much. If you pay attention to my lectures you'd be at level eight, then all you'd need is the extraordinary and extended use levels and then you'd feel no discomfort at all"

The twins cutely pouts. I notice the build-up of cuteness essence within and headed them off again.

"No using charm on me!" I say, bopping them lightly on the head.

"It's not fair! How can you tell?"

"Sense Mana!" I says with a big grin.

I had practiced [Acting] with my sisters and they got the skill a lot easier than I had to. Then again, I upgraded my skill, they did not.

[Acting] is a lot more fun and productive when playing roles with my sisters. My [Dreams of Reality] really helps create a realistic setting and I could even augment it with normal beauty magic. It took concentration to move things with my bond skill, but I managed to create pre-programmed illusions to add special effects.

I even used my [Acting] in front of the Lojyo and got tons of compliments for my display. I had Chofel use her magic to create sounds as I could not, well, I could but I'd have to use [Mana Manipulation].

It's been nine years since I reincarnated and Mom had said that they have something important to talk to me about for when I turn ten next year.

After playing with my sisters for the workday I took them to the baths to rendezvous with Mom and Dad. After the baths we went home. Walking into the storefront and through a side door that led upstairs.

Me, Mom, and Dad sat down at the table after getting a plate of sliced, caramelized fruit chips.

"You're going to turn ten years old next year, Unlocking your class and probably another race Evolution. But for now, we need to talk about Stats." Dad Says.

"You gain fifteen stat points every time you level up and they can be spent into Mana, Mana generation, Vitality, Strength, Agility, Endurance, Wisdom, Intelligence, and Charisma," Mom says

"This will change things, Aly. For example, [Dancing] should be effortless to level with high Agility, yet it's not. Ever since you discovered the knowledge of skill levels we've since been able to figure out that action levels increase in difficulty the higher your stats are."

"Wait, if higher stats make it harder to level skills, why do you all say I am a genius? It's because of my low stats right?" I ask, putting a fruit chip in my mouth.

"That's a fair question. Perception skills don't have a stat to work off of so it's an outlier, it doesn't get harder so your high Sense mana skill is proof of your talent. Also, the difficulty increases with your ability to accomplish the level so it evens out. The only problem being that with some skills with a high enough stat you may not be able to find a situation to actually level up the skill" Dad says

I thought about it for a second. "So If I have fire resistance and a super high endurance I'll have to seek out ever hotter flames to level up the skill?" I ask, eating another chip.

"Yes," Dad nods.

"And if I raise my Charisma too high I'll need to impress ever stronger beings with [Acting]?"

"Yup," Mom says.

"So I need to get my skills as high as I can before using points? Or use points only when I need them?"

Mom and Dad smiles. "There will be cases when you want to increase your stats, like if you don't have a related skill. That'll be strength for you, so you don't need to worry about that."

I see, raising intelligence and wisdom would make it harder for me to level [Mana Manipulation] and [Twin Minds]. [Acting] and [Musician] are charisma based and [Tailoring] and [Graceful Movements] are agility based. [Pain Tolerance] [Sense Mana] and [True Sight] are perception based.

While I am tempted to put all my points into Intelligence to hinder [Mana Manipulation] I haven't even gotten any class skills yet so they might be Intelligence related too.

"So even if I level a lot, I shouldn't use my stat points until I get my class skills to a high level, right? Class skills do work like general skills right?"

It's a reasonable assumption, If cursed skills are class skills and they work the same way then why would they not level up and gain breakthroughs

"See, Aly, you are smart, give yourself more credit"

I frown. "It's just logical..." I mutter. Mom and Dad giggle at that.

Still, this was very useful information. I probably would have spent my points and made things worse for me, now I know that you don't always want to use your points.

The next day I attend Chyzu's dojo, It is the day when warriors would spar with the mages. There are several new apprentices in both dojos, some, like me and Tana, are also younger than ten years old, training to be Kheshamo fighters.

We must have started a new thing as the now four pre-ten-year-olds are training basics. Chyzu is still making me do stances although I had gotten good enough to not need the practice. Tana on the other hand could at least hold his own against classed students, which is very impressive. The warrior prodigy has been diligently practicing the martial arts, never missing a day in the dojo.

Tana's parents had expressed worry just as mine do that we are hyperfocused on improving ourselves.

I Kinda blame myself for Tana as he is always saying "I must catch up to you". The other children are always trying to get me and Tana to fight and see who's the strongest, something I've always avoided.

The following day I train with Topobe, making clothes that [Perfectionist's Eye] is fairly satisfied with. I even sold mana silk to have some pocket change. This was a great opportunity to improve my [Acting], taking the role of lifelong merchant netted me great deals. It was awesome, whenever I assumed the role new instincts would begin telling me how to act and gave me a sense of value for whatever I am dealing with. The only downside is that I must act the role.

[Acting] is potent, I wonder what its class version is like when the general skill is already this good. Actually, I can already guess it's going to be something along the lines of [Shapeshifting] or [Doppelganger], those sound like class skills.

By assuming the role of a Tailor I can further improve my skill, making clothes that not only satisfy but please my [Perfectionist's Eye] at the same level as Topobe. It didn't make me a master but simply gave me a boost. If I used it for woodworking I'd still make crap, just less crappy.

At times I've been made to help around the family store. We sold jewelry, metal trinkets, enchanted items, Mom and Dad finally gave in and let me do that. We even made armor for the village defenders, which came in real handy when another, weaker Domr attacked the village. It was only level one-thirty and was easily killed.

I even sold some of my crafts as well. My most popular is the dress of flying. It's made entirely out of air mana and enchanted to lift you up in the air for a short amount of time. The dress is made with tons of material to increase lift. It's also made with an air or dark gem to allow for more enchantments used for flight such as decreased weight when wearing the dress.

I sort of revolutionized the Enchanting scene too. It just happens that [Sense Mana] pairs super well with it that many enchanters come to this village once a month for the skill lectures. Before most enchantments were for cosmetic reasons. And while there was the occasional flying enchanted item, due to the enchantment degradation most didn't bother. Now that I spread the knowledge of mana infusion, enchanted items are starting to become a lot more common now that the enchanters had time to improve their skills.

Mana weaving has also boomed lately, with the increased demand for enchanted items so is the demand for mana weaved silk increasing.

The Storm Wardens are also teaching [Sense Mana] after being deployed to various villages and I no longer have to teach them. The Priestess that had survived the storm became the High priestess and has taken over the role of Storm Warden trainer.

[Sense Mana] is becoming a staple skill in Runalymo society, though many are discouraged by the initial pain brought about by the high mana density here.

Seven Storm Wardens have also reported qualifying for a Major tier class, Storm Warden Defender. Apparently, they can [Calm Storms] and [Control Mana], the lesser version of [Manipulate Mana], but will allow them to do what I did to save the village from the super storm.

Our village despite doing so well has actually lost people over the years. With the new storm wardens, people feel safe to rebuild and re-inhabit the lost villages. Wealth and opportunities are always a driving factor in forming new settlements.

Despite the loss in people, trade with the lost islands has brought back several products. More ores to work metal, fruit, and bamboo from specialized trees. There are hundreds of types of the bamboo-like trees due to thousands of years of selective cultivation. Wood with a red color. Wood with more water mana, fruit saturated with ice mana for a nice fire storm treat. Hundreds of products are slowly coming back, a reminder of those we had lost from that tragic storm.

I walk to Efula's ice cream stall and placed two coins on the counter. The coins are made from cheap Fydomr pearls and shaped in a round coin-like shape. I held my money in a pouch on my belt. Crime is almost non-existent so no one worries about thieves. I would have kept my money in my storage ring but Mom and Dad don't like me doing so. They still don't trust storage items not randomly exploding if it has things in them.

"You don't have to pay the full price Aly" Efula says with an exasperated sigh.

"You deserve it, besides it's not like I'm hurting for money right now," I reply, stuffing a spoon full in my mouth. I purr with contentment as I ate. "By the way," I says between bites "there's going to be an ice storm in about four days" I inform her. Much like my previous world, ice cream sells more on hot days and less on cold days.

I've gotten good at sensing storms. I can now sense them five days in advance. The signs are very hard to see and even harder to attribute to the storm but it's there. The slight trembling of the mana, how it drifts down more slowly, how the currents change ever so slightly.

After I was done with my bowl I purchased two more for my sisters, promising to bring the bowls back later.

I walk back and think about my Bond gains, my familiar following me as it always does. No one pays any heed anymore, it might as well just be a fancy necklace. I keep it summoned for healing just in case, also useful when someone hurts themselves or if I stub my toe.

I had kept killing Domrs whenever I had a chance. Whenever we needed more Domr pearls for jewelry Dad and I would go out on a boat and I'd blast the little buggers with my [Fairy Strike]. I had always gone for the ones under level one hundred. With my Kyhosa I can easily blast them with little resistance.

Turns out enchanted items aren't super great for boosts. I made a hair tie that only gives a plus one hundred percent, It also matters the quality of the material used. Dragon silk still boosts water by five hundred to seven hundred percent, but then again I'm not a water mage and that also can only happen if I use all its enchantment allowance to only boosts. Another downside is that you can't stack bonuses. If you have one item with plus fifty percent and one with plus five hundred you get five hundred not five-fifty.

Enchantment allowance can be thought of as 'slots'. One basic enchantment like an illusory effect will only take about a half slot, useful ones like standard defensive ones or boosts take one full slot on average. Advanced ones like storage and flying take one and a half. With several tests, as well as just asking a few knowledgeable people like other enchanters and merchants. I found out that one 'slot' of storage can hold one cubic meter of storage.

Another factor in enchantment allowance is the size of the object. One day, after killing Domrs with Dad we dove to collect their bodies, one of the only times dad allows me to use my storage. I found a huge dark pearl in a recently slain Udomr. It holds about five slots for enchantments but it's the same size as my Aydomr's ice pearl, about the same size as my head. Not exactly a trinket you can wear easily.

Since the body of that Udomr was fairly recent we had to choose a new spot to hunt Domrs. Because whatever had killed that large Udomr had to be much stronger.

Still, with all of that, I was able to get my Bond to level one-ninety-one. Killing Domrs, however, is taking a lot more to level my Bond up. I am confident I can get to two hundred by the end of the year but any further won't be possible.

Returning home I give my sisters their bowls of ice cream.

"Thank you! Aly" It was a tad unsettling how they both said that at the exact same time. They happily stuff their face with the creamy treat.

Tomorrow is the meeting with the Guardian. Perhaps I should ask the guardian for advice for classes.