A Relatively Powerful Mage

Imri lay helplessly in the hospital bed, the steady beeps of the monitors a constant reminder that he was still alive. He had been unable to sleep, the strange condition slowly taking over his body, making him unable to move without assistance. It seemed inevitable that he would eventually succumb to his condition; no one had been able to make any progress in discovering its nature. The doctors had devolved into arguing for their theories, circling back to diagnoses they had already ruled out.

His normally stoic father had teared up last night, telling Imri he loved him. The thought of his father's anguish was too much to bear; they had only recently just lost Imri’s mother. If anything, he held onto life for his father’s sake more than his own. He had willed himself to keep breathing, to keep the condition away from anything vital. Imri doubted he could continue through sheer willpower alone; surely that wasn’t enough to affect something at a physiological level. Yet, he felt like he had, that his determination was why he still breathed.

The nurse entered, quickly checking on his IV. She was an attractive young woman in her mid-twenties, short with a bust that was evident even on the loose-fitting scrubs. She turned from the IV and smiled at him, raising his spirits almost instantly. While it didn’t hurt that she was easy on the eyes, Imri enjoyed her presence for the warmth she seemed to radiate, something that a hospice ward was almost entirely devoid of.

Imri felt embarrassed as she helped him get up and head towards the bathroom only a couple of meters from the bed. He knew it was irrational to feel ashamed of his condition, and it was her job to help people like him. Fortunately, he still had enough of his faculties that she only needed to help him get to the bathroom.

He had almost reached his destination when, suddenly, the world started to spin uncontrollably. He closed his eyes, hoping that would relieve the vertigo, but it only intensified. He opened his eyes, only to find his world completely changed. Instead of the hospital, there was nothing; it was as if he floated in a void with no gravity. Despite no discernable light source, he could see himself clearly.

He moved his arms and legs, laughing as he no longer seemed to be affected by the mysterious condition that had almost killed him. Then, Imri had a sobering thought, had he died? It seemed like the most logical explanation. He had always feared death, not believing in an afterlife or reincarnation. If he had died, that belief was debunked. He shrugged. Whether this was an afterlife, death throes, or something else entirely, it didn’t change his approach; all he could do was enjoy the experience for what it was.

As he pondered his likely demise, a sourceless, mechanical-sounding voice spoke. “Welcome to the multiverse. Your universe is currently undergoing integration, and matter reconfiguration is underway. Once completed, you will have the opportunity to distinguish yourself. Please be aware that many different planets have been combined to create diversity and competition. You can now select your starting class or profession.”

Information flowed into Imri’s mind without any visual layer, like it had been downloaded directly into his brain. It was disconcerting to gain information in this manner, but as he acclimated to it he realized how efficient it was. He let the wider-reaching implication go, focusing on all the class and profession options he somehow knew he could choose from.

There were near-limitless options. Some were mundane, like a list of recommended career paths he had been given after taking an aptitude test, like engineer or banker. Others were similar but with more of an old-fashioned bent, like blacksmith or leatherworker. Classes had almost as much variety. Like professions, a subset of classes seemed lifted out of a fantasy game, like barbarian or rogue. Some were even more fantastical, like arcanists, warlocks, or psionics. In addition to all his options, there was a wide variety of slight variations, for instance, he could be a general mage or he could be hyper-specialized in one or two spells. The same was true for the more mundane options as well.

Imri preferred 4x games, and he wondered if he could treat this like one of those games, allowing him to control entire civilizations, grow an empire, and eventually eliminate his opponents. Unfortunately, the system's emphasis on competition made him focus on his immediate survival. He somehow knew that he would eventually be able to pick both a class and a profession, so it made sense to pick his class first.

He mentally filtered out the professions, eliminating more than half the options. Next, he filtered out all classes with a primary stat that was either physical or charisma-based. Finally, he filtered anything related to dark, shadow, or death, finding those edge lord archetypes cringe-inducing. He added a criterion that the class had some sort of magical abilities, as that was too cool to pass up. He then filtered by how specialized he wanted to be, eliminating the generalists and the classes that specialized in only one thing. The remaining list was manageable, if still a bit long, and he mentally examined some of them.

Class Tier/Rank Primary Stat Description / Staring Abilities

Psionic 1F Willpower Through your will you can convert mana into a variety of psionic abilities including telepathy and telekinesis. Starts with Telepathy (1F), Telekinesis (1F)

Elementalist 1F Willpower Through your will you can convert mana into a variety of fundamental elements. Starts with Elemental Conversion (1F), Elemental Manipulation (1F)

Diviner 1F Intelligence Through your understanding of reality, you can divine truth using mana. Starts with Augur (1F), Diviner (1F)

Transmuter 1F Intelligence Through your understanding of matter, you can manipulate mana to shape the form it takes. Starts with Transmuter (1F), Shaper (1F)

Relativity Mage 1F Intelligence Through your understanding of relativity, you can manipulate space and time using mana. Starts with Spatial Manipulation (1F), Time Manipulation (1F)

Imri stopped after reading the Relativity Mage. While there were still many powerful options, what could be more powerful than manipulating space and time? Still, his analytical mind screamed for him not to make an impulsive choice. He queried for additional details, and the system responded.

Relativity Mage (1F)

Experience: Bonus experience is awarded for learning and effectively using space and time spells.

Primary Stats / Level

Agility .1%

Intelligence .25%

Willpower .15%

Secondary Stats / Level

MP .25%

Mana Efficiency .25%

New Traits Gained Tier/Rank Description

Spatial Manipulation 1F Gives an understanding of spatial concepts, helping improve the rate at which spells and abilities related to the concept of space are learned and improved by 5%. Increases the effectiveness of space-based spells and abilities by 1.5%.

Time Manipulation 1F Gives an understanding of temporal concepts, helping improve the rate at which spells and abilities related to the concept of time are learned and improved by 5%. Increases the effectiveness of time based spells and abilities by 1.5%.

Imri frowned, the stats seeming rather insignificant. He checked several other classes but found that they gave similar amounts of stats. Feeling like he was missing something he queried his stats.

Primary Stats

Strength 112

Agility 84

Constitution 96

Intelligence 138

Willpower 125

Charisma 91

Secondary Stats

HP 107

FP 80

MP 172

Mana Efficiency 190

It took Imri a moment, but then an understanding clicked into place. The stats weren’t linear but exponential. Someone with a 100 score was average in that score while someone with a 150 was far more than 50% smarter, they were a genius. It was essentially a normally distributed curve, similar to how IQ worked in the real world when not at the extremes. The system seemed to break from that at the higher end, likely as it neared 200.

Imri found his stats acceptable. He knew he was intelligent; he had always been one of the smartest people in his class if not the best student. However, he was no genius, so the number seemed appropriate. His willpower was also high, and this was undoubtedly due to his recent illness. Facing certain death was bound to temper anyone's willpower. That plus the mindfulness he had practiced to overcome his social anxiety and depression. His third highest stat was strength, and this was mainly due to his size more than any weight training. The rest of his stats were slightly below average. He had always been a bit of a clutz and a loner, though neither to an extreme.

His understanding of stats did not sway his choice. He took enough time looking through classes to feel like he wasn’t being impulsive. With a mental command, he selected the Relativity Mage and disappeared from the void as suddenly as he had appeared.

Imri blinked several times, trying to acclimate to the environment before him. He stood in what looked like a forest. The trees were unlike anything he had seen, with bright blue and violet leaves and a strange rocklike texture instead of the typical wood. The strange trees were dense, obscuring him from seeing into the distance. The constant chittering of insects drowned out any other noise, sounding somewhat like cicadas.

He no longer wore his hospital gown but a simple brown linen robe. At one hip rested a small sheath with a knife. A small satchel hung over his shoulder, resting near his other hip. Inside the satchel, there were several small vials of bright-colored liquid, two of each color. As he wondered what they were, he instinctively knew he had a skill that would help him, Identify. He used Identify on each of the different vials.

Item Tier/Rank Quality Description

Standard Healing Potion 1F 1 Improves HP regeneration by 50.5% for 2 hours.

Standard Stamina Potion 1F 1 Improves FP regeneration by 50.5% for 2 hours.

Standard Mana Potion 1F 1 Improves MP regeneration by 50.5% for 2 hours.

Despite the strange circumstances, Imri smiled. He could move again, his feet on solid ground and able to put one foot in front of the other. He had been given a second chance and wouldn’t waste it. Imri began searching the area for signs of other people. While searching, he pulled up his status and noticed none of his stats had improved. Each of the stats seemed to floor down to the nearest whole number. His class had improved to level 1, but he also noticed that his heritage was level 1.

Heritage Description

Primordial (1F) You are a primordial of unknown origins

Primary Stats / Level Secondary Stats

Strength .1% HP .1%

Agility .1% FP .1%

Constitution .1% MP .3%

Intelligence .3%

Willpower .2%

Charisma .1%

New Traits Gained Tier/Rank Description

Enigmatic Being 1F Increases your resistance to divination-based spells and effects by 10%

Discerning Eye 1F Improves visual acuity by 5%. Increases the effectiveness of the Identify skill by 25%. Can see mana in any form.

Primordial's Intuition 1F Intuit basic understanding of concepts without any prior knowledge. Increase the rate at which intelligence-based spells and abilities are learned and improved by 5%.

Primordial’s Intuition was responsible for understanding how the system worked, which Imri knew because of Primordial's Intuition. Unfortunately, his intuition didn’t extend to what a primordial was, and even the description was frustratingly vague. His Enigmatic Being trait wasn’t immediately useful but would be invaluable if anyone ever tried to scry or detect him. His Discerning Eye was more immediately helpful, allowing him to see his surroundings more clearly. He also realized he could shift his vision, allowing him to see mana of varying intensities, almost like infrared goggles but for mana instead of heat. His own body glowed blue under the mana sensing vision, while the rest of the environment had a fainter glow.

As he was experimenting with his new vision, he noticed the glowing outline of a creature in the trees, though its glow was still far weaker than his own. It was slightly larger than a human, with scaly skin of a similar dark hue to the strange trees. It had sharp claws that dug deep into the stonelike tree. Despite this, Imri relaxed. He noticed the creature's lethargic energy and glacial pace as it reached out for another branch. It was so slow, and Imri wasn’t sure he could move that slow if he tried.

Imri watched the creature for a while, pondering the nature of time. This creature used the slowness of time within its own body to its advantage. It was a simple insight, but somehow it felt profound to Imri. He felt his class trait deepening as he observed a concept of time. It wasn’t enough to learn a new spell, but it laid a foundation for future gains. Imri nodded to the sloth lizard, grateful to the creature. Somehow, he didn’t feel foolish and swore the lizard understood the gesture.

This realization also allowed Imri a more immediate insight. His two class traits did not give him spells to cast. Instead, they allowed him to manifest his understanding of space and time as spells. He currently had no spells and below-average physical stats while traveling through a strange indigo rock forest. He was acutely aware of this as he spotted movement again. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the amble of the sloth lizard but a quick flash of movement from a predator stalking its prey. Imri embraced the wave of adrenaline that shot throughout his body. This would be over in the blink of an eye; he would either kill or be killed.

The creature burst from behind a rock tree, flashing towards Imri at a ridiculous speed. It was a doglike creature with indigo splotches among its dark fur. Imri instinctively used Identity.

Heritage Tier/Rank Level Description

Ulfr Hound 1F 3 Ulfr hounds are weak creatures that hunt in packs. Have no strong affinities or weaknesses.

Before Imri could react, the hound was upon him, lunging for his throat. Imri desperately tried to shield his neck from the snapping jaws, slightly succeeding in that he managed to get his arm mangled instead of his throat. The hound continued biting down, shaking Imri’s arm like a chew toy as it bore Imri to the ground. Agony shot throughout his arm, seeming to spread to every nerve in his body. Blood gushed out of the wound, though it was still clamped shut from the vice-like pressure of the Ulfr Hound’s jaw.

Imri did his best to stay calm despite the mortal peril so soon into his second chance. With his free hand, Imri pressed his hand to the beast and manipulated the area around it, compressing the space itself. As the amount of space decreased, the pressure slowly built around the creature's head. The beast whimpered and released his arm before its skull caved in with a sickening pop, its head exploding like a popped zit, spraying blood and gray matter all over Imri.

Spell Learned Tier/Rank Description

Spatial Compression 1F Compress space in local space-time. Mana cost varies by density of matter within the compressed space, amount of space being compressed, and distance from the caster to the space being compressed.

New Quest Progress

Class Rank Up F to E Learn space or time spells 1/5.

New Achievement Earned Rank Primary Stats / Rank Description

Solo Hunter 2 .1% Slay a creature above your level without the aid of others.

The spell didn't have any visual indicator or sound. He simply willed the effect into being with no chants or complex rituals. Even the gesture with his hand hadn't been strictly necessary, though it had helped him keep the parameters of his spell well-defined, like the follow-through of a pitcher. It also hadn't compressed space quickly, and if the hound had been moving, it wouldn't have been so effective.

Imri lay there for a moment, his arm mangled and bleeding, the headless hound’s dead weight on top of him. With effort, he managed to free himself by rolling the carcass off. He wanted to be away from the dead creature, but something drew him towards it, a faint energy within it still resonating.

Imri drew his dagger and cut into the beast using his uninjured arm. He did his best to ignore the blood and viscera carving into its chest for the source of energy. He cracked several of its ribs, then plucked out a tiny gem-like substance no larger than a bean.

Item Name Tier/Rank Level Description

Monster Core 1F 3 A core that is found within all creatures. It has a myriad of uses, including alchemy and enchantment. It can be absorbed directly to gain class or profession experience.

Imri held the monster core between two fingers. He could feel that both his class and heritage were close to a level up, and he decided to use it now to gain his first few levels.

Imri Padar has reached Level 3 in Relativity Mage (1F)

Imri Padar has reach Level 3 in Primordial (1F)

Primary Stats Gained

+2 Intelligence

+1 Willpower

Secondary Stats Gained

+6 MP

+7 Mana Efficiency

Next, Imri checked his current resources to see how bad the damage he had taken was.

Resources

Hit Points (HP) 84/107

Stamina (FP) 77/80

Mana Points (MP) 118/178

Despite not being anywhere near death, having all the damage dealt to his arm limited his grip strength and dexterity. He didn’t have any skills to help him recover his HP, and according to the system, it would take a week to regenerate 100% of his max HP. Given the amount of damage he had sustained, it would take about a day and a half to regenerate the damage done to his arm. The health potion seemed especially ineffective, only cutting the time by minutes. Likewise, MP recovered slowly, taking 3 days to recover 100%. Stamina recovered the fastest, taking only a day. There were also bonuses for resting, with stamina receiving the greatest bonuses with a 100% increase for resting, mana recovering with a 50% increase, and health with a 25% increase.

Imri uncorked the HP potion and downed it in a single swallow. Its artificial taste reminded him of cough syrup. As he drank the potion, he felt slightly nauseous. He assumed that drinking multiple potions at once would result in him throwing the contents back up. Perhaps with a higher constitution, he could manage the negative effects better.

Even with the health potion, Imri noticed his HP drop by 1 point as he lost blood from the open wound. He used his knife and cut off a strip of cloth from his robe, tying it tightly across his arm. With the makeshift bandage in place, the HP loss stopped.

Imri continued to explore the stone forest, though more wary of ambush predators. His first concern was for more of Ulfr hounds to come to avenge their packmate. Fortunately, nearly an hour later, there was still no sign of more Ulfr Hounds. He had noticed other signs of life, more of the sloth lizards and an anteater-like creature that dug through the rock trees for insects. Neither creature paid him any mind, focused on their mundane tasks.

As he wandered about, he heard the sound of moving water. As he moved closer, it became apparent it wasn’t the burbling of a creek but the roar of rushing water. It grew louder and louder, and he had badly misjudged its size and distance. Slowly, the forest opened up to reveal a towering waterfall. The descent of the fall was further than anything Imri had ever seen on earth, with the source of the water not even visible, as if it descended from the heavens. Stranger yet, there wasn’t a cliff or discernable structure that originated the falls, it was as if the water just poured from an unseen source. It pooled into a small lake before continuing on as a river.

Despite the alien nature of the waterfall, Imri found its presence soothing. He decided to take a break. He removed his gore-stained robe and went into the lake. It was cold, but the shock to his body energized him. He washed the filthy clothing as best he could with only water, then hung it out to dry. It was cold enough that he was uncomfortable but not so much so that he was in danger of becoming hypothermic.

He sat in his underwear, which the system had thankfully provided him. He crossed his legs and leaned against one of the rock trees. He closed his eyes and focused on the rhythmic sound of the roaring water. Soon, he felt as if he were the waterfall, the rock jungle, and the sloth lizards. He was a part of everything, and everything was a part of him. Eventually, he returned his focus to his body, his breath coming in and out slowly but deeply.

Skills Learned Tier/Rank Description

Meditation 1F Enter a state of meditation, shifting your gaze free from your mind and body. While in a state of meditation, you gain +1% MP regeneration / 10 Willpower. You are also considered resting for the purpose of mana regeneration.

Breath Control 1F Control your breathing efficiently. While using breath control you gain +1% FP regeneration / 10 constitution. You are also considered resting for the purpose of stamina regeneration.

Spell Learned

Metronome 1F Send out a pulse of mana at a regular interval. Mana cost varies by duration and frequency of pulses.

Quest Updated Progress

Class Rank Up F to E Learn space or time spells 2/5.

Imri smiled as his meditation ended. He opened his eyes and was confronted with a person only a meter away.