Rebirth and Second Chances

Chapter 37: Level up - Part 2

[Consider it more a biological imperative.]

[Your DNA will absorb the potential and your mitochondria will allow the S phase of cell division to explode exponentially, dividing furiously creating new and stronger cells as enzymes are produced and adapted to make use of the potential energy.]

[A qualitative and quantitative change occurs on the molecular level. Harnessing experience to re-write your body's DNA. Errors in decoding and reproducing are eliminated, and the magic directs the experience energy to increase your potential.]

"Sidhe know about DNA?"

[Of course,] Caraid said, [the best healers are able to operate on the cellular level when repairing the body.]

[As you level, your body and abilities become stronger, better, and capable of absorbing more experience to repeat the process, each new cell creating and establishing a new foundation to build the next level upon.]

[It's cyclical. But can be directed. You can make a choice to funnel this stored energy into any of your stats, at whatever ratio you'd like.]

[Once begun, the process continues until the stored experience is expended and you and your body have adapted]

"I wonder why the process isn't automatic?" I asked.

[No one knows for sure. Theorists have hypothesized that the reason experience may be stored until the individual decides to increase level may be due to the mechanics involved. Cells, DNA, Mitochondria are forced to divide, reproduce, and evolve at exponential rates. Your body is being torn apart and rebuilt every time you level up.]

[Can you imagine that happening in the middle of a battle?]

"It would be distracting." I agreed.

[Although there is no certainty behind this belief, most think the System holds that potential in abeyance placing the energy into storage until you are capable of making a conscious decision to convert it.]

"If it makes your body better and stronger, why don't status points increase? Shouldn't I be stronger, faster, and smarter after I level up?"

"You are stronger, faster, and smarter after you level up. Your Prince Rank 2 strength of 12 is about a tenth more strength than your Prince Rank 1 strength of 12. And that's assuming you don't invest any additional points into the stat. The status numbers change by .1 every level gain in addition to those points you assign. This is done regardless of Rank or level."

"Thanks, Caraid," I said after he answered the last of my immediate questions. "My status numbers and the way they increased was bothersome. I'd thought I wouldn't be able to direct growth and that the .1 gain to every stat per level was the extent to changes."

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Time and tide wait for no man may have been a cliche, but that didn't make it any less true.

Time to stop stalling, bite the bullet, and level up.

Taking the time to undress and lay down, I tried to get as comfortable as possible before I sent my mind outwards. Channeling my mental energies and magic into the ring. The translocation was strangely familiar, similar to the Portal crossing I'd experienced returning from the Summerlands.

One moment lying in bed, the next floating in the vastness of space.

A Void of infinite black.

Silent.

Peaceful.

It should have scared me. This look into the abyss. And if I hadn't met SYSTEM, it might have been traumatic. Instead, it was soothing. An island of peace and isolation in a storm of uncertainty and chaos.

That moment of perfection couldn't last. The absence of light and sound was eventually broken as a pinpoint of light slowly formed and grew. Seconds. Moments. Years. There was no way of gauging the passage of time. But slowly, it seemed, ever so slowly that light approached until it blazed before me majestically.

[Greetings, Mac de Belenos. You have shared blood and gained entrance to this place. You have become a part of this domain.]

[How can I be of service?]

"Who are you?" I asked in wonder.

[We are a construct. An amalgam and collection of hopes and dreams.]

[Teacher. Sage. Guide.]

[We are the embodiment and representative of the potential the Sidhe possess.]

[Not perfect. Never perfect.]

[Perfection is an ideal to be sought, never realized. But we contain the bits of wisdom and insights that have allowed the Sidhe to prosper.]

[All the Sidhe. Past and present.]

"You can guide my meditation, help me embrace and actualize the stored potential so that I can level up efficiently?" I asked.

[That and so much more.]

[We can create sparring golems that will battle with you increasing incrementally your fighting ability as you become more proficient.]

[Guide your magic abilities to become surer, more adept.]

[We can show you how to increase your proficiencies in any skills, spells, or auras you possess.]

[And we can help you form and devise new spells based on your ideas safely.]

[Our role is limited in scope, we are able to assist. But you must guide.]

[You decide how you would make use of us.]

[You set parameters and targets and goals you wish to strive for.]

[We cannot initiate action. We respond to your will. Your ideas.]

If this were really an MMORPG, they would consider this ring game-breaking. A cheat to exploit the system. Really, the potential advantages were monumental.

Sad really, that all I wanted at the moment was to level up.

"I have reached the peak of my current rank, and I need to level up. Can you help me devise a meditation protocol that will allow me to absorb the potential experience my body has stored and convert it into actual results, as efficiently as possible?"

[Yes.]

[If you are ready?]

"Yes," I agreed.

The light that had grown to fill the vastness of space began to shrink, dimming until only a small flickering flame remained. The flame quickly changed position until it was an arm's length away and at eye level.

[Observe the flame.]

[Don't focus on it, allow your vision to relax, recognizing the flame as it moves.]

[Notice the oranges and reds.]

[Project your mental energies towards the flame acting and reacting in a synergistic dance. Neither leading nor following. A harmonic blend. You and the flame merge, potential and actuality become one.]

As I listened to the words, my body began to vibrate.

Frequencies of sound and light merging.

Harmony in motion.

A dance of particles and energies.

My awareness and the flame combined into a collective of shared energy and expectations.

Just as flames need oxygen and fuel to burn, so too did my body requires a chemical reaction. That stored experience. The potential energy became the energy that fueled the flame. Burning steadily as my body converted what I had stored into something new.

Caraid was right. I was re-born. My body was torn apart as experience rewired and rewrote my DNA, encompassing and absorbing that potential. Making it a part of me. Forging my body in the flames of what could be and smelting and hammering that potential into something better.

[Now decide. Direct how you would assign that experience.]

My body knew what he meant, and how to accede to his directive. I'd already considered where I should assign my status points.

Events have demonstrated that I needed to be able to dodge and cast powerful magics. So, it made sense to add points to agility and intelligence.

Caraid was correct, my body knew how this was done, the same way it knew how to breathe. It was an intrinsic part of who I was. And the process was almost as automatic as breathing.

[LEVEL UP]

*You have reached Prince Rank 2*

Name: Mac De Belenos Prince: Level 2

Title: Summerland's Protector Title: Zeus' Bane

Health Pool: 2640 Magic Strength: 3840

Strength: 12.2 Agility: 14.2

Intellect: 20.2 Will Power: 18.2

The intrusion of status screens and system notifications was jarring. It shocked me out of my meditation and expelled me from the training space.

Blinking my eyes in confusion, my vision darted frantically trying to understand where I was and what had happened.