6.39 - Wisdom! Wisdom! Wisdom!

Creating an army of golems to watch over the new location of the thrones wasn’t difficult. The task wasn’t made simple by Theo’s growing abilities, but by the authority of Tero’gal. The Throneworld had become more a part of him than ever, and the commands he used to issue with upgrades were now more like instincts. He knew what he could do with this world, and how the energy within influenced his base abilities.

While 100 golems was good enough for now, there were also the original loyalists within the world. People like Belgar would be more than happy to defend this place, as it was the key to keeping it running. Without much prodding, the center of Tero’gal was moved in a flash. From the rolling hills of some unnamed region, to one that had been named just as quickly. The original souls of the realm—along with some willing to join the cause—settled in the Seat of the Thrones region at the base of the mountain.

They got to work carving a staircase, which might have revealed how bored they were. Or how enthusiastic.

“We could just magic that path,” Tresk said with a shrug, watching the group work.

“Maybe,” Belgar agreed, half-heartedly. “But we all feel that thing inside us. Those that had cores back on the mortal plane remember the sensation.”

That was another concern. The power to gain cores had always been something reserved for the mortal realm and the ascendants. Theo frowned as he considered it, refusing to allow his world to end up like the mortal world. The mortals fought constantly, killing each other in an endless loop to appease people who called themselves gods. Well, he suspected they were killing each other long before the ascendants were a thing. It was the way the world was designed. But not his world. His senses spread as he touched the energy of Tero’gal. It reached back, as though recognizing his intent.

“Just got the chills,” Tresk said, giggling and shivering. “Yuck.”

The pair shared silent commands and unspoken wishes as to what they wanted their system to look like. A more logical system of progression with defined stages would be best. If people knew which rank of development they were at, it would give them a better sense for their power. Creating something of a cap on that power would also be good. This staging system would need to have an end. Perhaps a point where someone had to decide if they wanted to remain a mortal, or ascend to a higher realm.

Tero’gal reached back as though to say it would think about the suggestions. It joined the disconnected thoughts sitting between Theo and Tresk, digesting them in its own time. There were many changes bound for the world, but it would take time. Like a child learning to walk, Tero’gal needed to get used to its new legs.

“Well, this has been fun,” Theo said, clapping his hands together. “Feels like time is getting weird in here.”

“Yeah. Slowing down a bit,” Tresk said, licking her finger and stabbing it into the air. She then licked the air, but learned nothing new from the motion.

Theo found no problems when leaving the Throneworld. While he was confident he could evolve his alchemy core, he wasn’t eager to do so. But the waning energy of Drogramath drew more distant by the day. He landed back on the mortal plane, letting out a sigh. There were too many potions to make. He searched his memory, taking stock of the ones he needed to make. The list was long enough that he didn’t want to recite it in his head, counting them instead.

“Thirty-four unique potions,” Theo said, scratching his chin. “Excluding modified potions and spirit fruit potions...”

“That’s a lot of potions, buddy.”

“Ten attributes each. Three-hundred-forty attribute points.”

“What the actual hell?” Tresk said, stomping her feet. “I want a million attributes, too!”

“I can’t finish them all. Not here on the mortal plane.” Theo ignored Tresk as she bit his leg.

“Pay attention to me!”

“I need your help, Tresk.”

“With what?” she asked around his leg.

“We need to bully the Dreamwalk into allowing me to brew new potions. Maybe I can do it with my new core. My willpower almost doubled.”

It wasn’t difficult. Theo could imagine everything he wanted in the last stages of brewing, allowing him to exploit this quirk of the system. He raced through the process, creating every potion that was on Salire’s list. The notifications rolled in, informing him of each new potions he brought into the ‘world.’ It didn’t care that this was a dream. It instead flooded him with potential power. Ten attributes for every new potion he made. 340 new attribute points to place. Which was more than he had gained through the normal means.

“This is stupid,” Theo said, inspecting his attribute screen. “Absolutely dumb. How should I put my points?”

“Shove everything into Wisdom!” Tresk shouted.

“Wisdom! Wisdom! Wisdom!” Alex chanted.

Adding every single point to Wisdom would cause the attribute to shoot up to 452. His precognition would skyrocket, while his intuition would be completely absurd. It wouldn’t approach Khahar’s level of prediction, but it would be close. But there was something else to consider. Something he had been thinking about for a while now. It was foolish to assume he had no enemies in the world. New or old, there might be people out there that wanted him dead. Strength wasn’t something he was interested in pumping, and neither was Intelligence. The alchemist was almost certain that physical attributes wouldn’t mess with his mind. That left Dexterity and Vigor, both of which would help him.

The problem with precognition was the ability to act on it. As an attribute, Dexterity increased a person’s ability to manipulate things with fine detail, as well as their ability to move quickly. It was dexterity, agility, and speed all rolled into one. Vigor influenced a person’s resistance to disease, recovery from injuries, Health, and Stamina. If he placed 200 points into Wisdom, and 100 into both Dexterity and Vigor, he would see a massive boost. Theo explained the plan to Tresk.

“Hmmm, yes,” Tresk said, stroking her bare chin. “That seems like a good plan. You’ll be faster than me... Wait, you’ll be faster than me! No! Wisdom!”

Theo placed the points how he wanted. He normally wouldn’t place points while within the Dreamwalk, but felt as though he could swing it this time. He felt the power surge in his body, but it was dulled by the dream. He watched as Tresk moved to the side, a full thirty seconds before she actually did. While his precognition didn’t make him feel dizzy, it still made his mind spin to see. Getting used to this new way of being would be hard. The alchemist moved to the side before Tresk had even started moving, grabbing at the air where her arm would have been.

“Gotcha,” Theo said, smiling down at the marshling. He snatched her other hand from the air. “And again.”

“Gah! You suck!” Tresk shouted, twisting from his grip and drawing her daggers. “Let’s see you survive this, alchemist boy!”

Tresk launched a series of attacks that Theo saw coming half a minute in advance. 312 Wisdom meant he was operating like someone at Level 300 that had dumped every point into the attribute. Adding his other attributes, he could keep up like someone at Level 500. Which was stupid. The system should have never worked in this way. Every attack she brought against him was foiled in advance. Which was a great way to get Tresk mad enough to figure out a loophole of her own.

Something twitched in Theo’s chest as he watched the marshling work her daggers through the air. The duo fell into a rhythm that transcended martial trances. He felt his mind connect to her, synchronizing in a way it never had. The alchemist struck out with a palm, knocking a dagger aside. Tresk performed a riposte, thrusting low only to have her dagger smacked away again. It turned into a game of move and counter-move. Until the marshling kept up with the pace.

A faint violet light issued from Tresk’s eyes as she focused. Her entire being became dedicated to something deeper than the fight. Theo flexed his newfound agility, dodging to the sides when the strikes became more pointed. The gap between precognition and action was narrowed. This distance closed by the moment, until it was nothing. Theo had a second of warning before she made her strikes. And she wasn’t cheating by using his vision against him. There was only one fate that played out on the Seat of Thrones.

The Tara’hek Core resonated in Theo’s chest until the purple light in Tresk’s eyes grew bright enough to give him pause. With a deft thrust, she drove her dagger through his chest. The alchemist looked down at himself, then back to Tresk. She had a smile on her face, and something... strange.

“Tresk... when did you get horns?” Theo asked, pulling the dagger from his chest.

Tresk probed at her forehead, then gestured to Theo’s hand. “Your fingers are webbed.”

Honk!

A core evolution system message appeared.

[Core Ability Evolution!]

The ability [Tara’hek Communication] has evolved into [Tara’hek Union].