The Calamitous Bob-Chapter 135 : First rounds

It was the eve of the two days of intensive duels and Viv admired the result of months of training. From the brief campaign against the Hallurians to duels and physical practice at the Academy, she'd been tireless. All for the hope that it would pay off with her survival.

Current status:

Mana channels (mage)Extreme compatibilityDivine spark: luckDraconic Surrogate MotherVANDAL

Mana distribution:

Black 100%

Current attunement: 44.2%

Her conduit and core were still at mage level because it was as much a matter of 'arcane biology' as it was one of inborn ability and effort. Those were the metaphysical organs that let her hold and draw mana. They only grew and developed with time, not just practice. Those placed a soft limit on how much Viv could draw at once but it was offset by her path bonus. It was because of them that a mage could not use their entire mana reserve on a single spell. Simply put, their conduits would burst, killing them on the spot. She had still made excellent progress in the span of only two years, and could hope to develop them further if she made it. The rest, well, she would have hoped that vandal would disappear. The Academy was charging her for every new door handle.

Physical

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

Mental

Power

24

Focus

41

Finesse

26

Acuity

41

Endurance

30

Willpower

41

She had made some minimal progress of her mental stats as a side effect of complex casting, however this was a side, modest progress she had not really counted on. The fifth tier was already an incredible achievement in such a short time. It was also less important to focus on now as it would take years for her to attain the next one. The most significant progress was around the physical stats, which gained two each. She was the most proud of endurance.

That one had taken sleepless night of running and workouts while starving to achieve. Her body had grown temporarily lean and underfed to achieve that result, but the new threshold held many advantages. The most significant ones were improved survival against fatal wounds as well as accelerated healing, elements that would improve her chances. Magic would simply help her body function beyond the limits of what should be. Interestingly, she was now approaching the stats of a young warrior on the late second step, yet there were no doubts one would whip her with ease. She simply didn't have the skills to back it up.

General skills

Polymath

Beginner 4

Athletics

Intermediate 7

Survival

Intermediate 3

Householding

Novice 8

Hand to hand combat

Beginner 6

Pain tolerance

Intermediate 9

Small blades

Beginner 7

Her general skills showed progress in survival on account of a few short outings she had done around Helock as part of her training and athletics which generally helped her run for longer periods of time. She was pretty sure she would be a marathon gold medallist back on earth. Unfortunately, here, she was still lower than the average infantryman.

Class skills

Meditative Trance

Expert 3

Mana mastery

Intermediate 3

Arcane Constructs

Intermediate 5

Danger sense

Intermediate 5

Leadership

Intermediate 4

Draconic Intimidation

Expert 3

Acuity reflex

Intermediate 5

Soul mastery

Intermediate 2

Shield Mastery

Intermediate 1

Those were her major success and sources of pride. Meditative trance meant that she could recover her mana in merely an hour or so from nearly empty, a vital skill if one were to fight several duels in a row. It was, of course, done on purpose to add to the contest's complexity.

Mana mastery had progressed as well, affecting every aspect of her spellcasting from skill to efficiency to precision. Detection was also a factor. It allowed her to guess what a spell would do as it was casted, an essential skill to counter enemy offense. Acuity reflex had improved by one as well as her reflexes improved, but danger sense had not since she had never really been in danger. Her most impressive progress came from shield mastery. She had blocked so many different attacks from Sonagi over time, learned to do so without expanding too much mana, that she could now estimate how much effort she had to spend to block something. Of course, he still tried to trick her sometimes but then acuity reflex kicked in, giving her a second chance.

Sonagi really thought she was a frustrating foe to face.

The last measure of progress did not stem from her training, but from her grief. Nights were… difficult, especially since she spent a few evenings catching up on what her earthside loved ones had been up to. She had to sate her curiosity. Emeric had fortunately said little about his own life within Viv's body, instead focusing on people she cared about. She didn't mind. Earth Viv had married and born children but they meant nothing to her. They were someone else's.

It appeared Emeric had cared. It made it even worse to Viv. She wanted to hate him freely and without nuances, a good old grudge that would end in a confrontation. Instead, Emeric had learned how to be less of a dick. Between this and his apologies, she felt slighted by someone who pretended he was good despite this heinous act. It frustrated her to no end.

Her mother was still alive and had gone to therapy. She had become a beekeeper in her old age, selling artisanal lavender honey at home and abroad. She was wildly successful and having a blast.

Her brother Damien was a law teacher in a university for talented kids from difficult backgrounds. He held many awards.

Her father had retired after a long career culminating as a secretary of state.

Everyone lived well.

Emeric even had a note on many of her friends, some she only remembered because he mentioned them. Her internet friends were doing well as well. Fraise had married and become a nurse just like she wanted. Gevaudan had turned out to be autistic, which she expected. Earth Viv gave him side gigs to pirate her company's systems, paying him very well for the service which helped. He had succeeded three times.

It was… strange.

No one was missing her. They didn't know. She was the only casualty of a game that had, in the end, benefitted everyone but her. Emeric had walked into her life and improved every aspect of it, for everyone. Better than she could have ever done with her own issues. Normal Viv didn't have the skill and gumption to rise through the ranks to the position of general manager of a European military industry giant.

This