The Newt and Demon

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.

“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.”

“Worth a shot. But I think you owe me. This isn’t fair.”

“That’s fine.”

Theo could find a way to make it up to Tresk. He could feel her jealousy for his increasing attributes, but what more could he do? This was his chance to seize a power that no one else had a shot at. Kuzan might have been gone, but there might be other remaining world powers that wanted to stab him in the face. Following that thought, he realized there might be others who had predicted the arrival of the gods, and made their move. The alchemist shook away the thought, shifting his focus to things of a mortal nature.

The town and nation were coming along nicely. A few more upgrades to the town itself, and they would become a proper city. There were a few buildings that needed upgrading, but Alise was doing a great job keeping up with civil projects. Between the railroad, housing, food, and water she hadn’t staggered in her pace of development. Even the market project was impressive, bringing trade from distant nations.

Instead of running off like the goblin she was, Tresk remained with Theo for the rest of the day. They stopped into the various businesses in Broken Tusk, checking on people. Sledge was still guarding her clutch of eggs in Mudball Fundamental, leaving behind a half-ogre to pick up her slack. Whisper’s butcher was producing more sausage by the day, and she even had a toora worker helping out. The elves had integrated completely, seeming to take on more half-ogre and marshling qualities by the day. Their level of refinement had dropped, resulting in a bunch of dirty elves playing in the mud.

After the day wore down, the group headed back to the manor. Sarisa and Rowan appreciated a day where they weren’t running around like crazy people. They served the ribs of some beast Theo couldn’t identify, slathered in a sauce that seemed close to barbeque sauce, but not quite. It was more tangy than it should be, with hints of some citrus fruit. Although the meat hadn’t been cooked for long, it still fell off the bone as though it had been cooking slowly for the entire day.

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As Theo ate his dinner, he thought about something that had stuck in his mind recently. The Dreamwalk was an interesting place, and had always been somewhere he went to exploit his connection with the system. But what was it? The power in each aligned core faded, but the Tara’hek Core remained strong. That was a core that refused to diminish, no matter what happened to the world. But the Dreamwalk was a kind of realm. The proof for that idea came from the intrusion of the previous Dreamer.

“Do you think dreams are realms?” Theo asked, smacking his lips. The meat was good.

“They’re like… sub-proto-realms. The idea of a realm,” Tresk said, shoving an entire rib bone in her mouth and sucking it clean. She then spoke around a mouthful of food. “Think of it like the manifestation of someone’s will.”

“That’s oddly eloquent. If one ignores the food you just sprayed on the table,” Sarisa said.

The meal went well enough. Everyone enjoyed the food, and Theo felt a sense of pride watching his innermost circle talk about whatever. If the Dreamwalk was the Tara’hek’s manifested will, they could overpower it. That might cause the new gods to intervene, so he needed to exploit it as much as possible.

“Time for bed,” Theo said, pushing his chair away from the table and standing. “We’ve got some exploits to take care of.”

“Yeah, just be ready for him to faint tomorrow,” Tresk said. “Home boy here is about to pump his stats so high, he might just poop himself.”

“I’ll prepare the diapers,” Sarisa said with a bow.

“Your royal crib awaits, sir,” Rowan said, performing an even lower bow.

“My liege,” Sarisa said, bowing lower still. She tipped forward, falling on her face.

Theo turned before he could laugh, heading up the stairs and to their bedroom. It was a shame Alex couldn’t join them, but he could feel her comfort from the barn. He could also feel her impending evolution, but there was enough evolution to go around. The last thing he needed was to consider the implications of a dragon-goose.

Theo, Tresk, and Alex landed in an imagined version of Tero’gal. They looked up at the mountain, standing within the region named the Seat of the Thrones. The power of his new Dreamwalker’s Core radiated in his chest. The Dreamwalk pushed back, but it didn’t stand a chance now. The combined willpower of the group crushed any opposition, removing all limitations it set. They were free to do and imagine whatever they wanted.

“This is gonna be fast,” Theo said, imagining the equipment he needed. “And it needs to be… If the gods can see into this realm, they’re gonna be pissed.”

“Make it quick, stinky,” Tresk said, jumping up and down. “Get them attributes!”

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].