My Preservation mind established a link with my girls, letting them view what was going on through my eyes and ears. Diamond and Robin were almost done with the construction of our manor. I took a quick look and suggested adding a wing for our personal guards, and I also showed them the kitchen setup I preferred. They acknowledged, cheerfully ordering their helpers to add rooms where they wanted while they kept an eye on me through the link.
My Apocalypse mind started running scenarios, deciding what I had to do so as to be involved the least amount possible in every situation. I started devising a System interface for any new users that I might pick up.
Meanwhile, my demons and monsters started to spawn. I was tempted to wipe them out again, but restrained myself. Linking my different sides together really helped keep me in control. I waited until they were all done respawning to announce anything, though. I turned my full attention on the interface.
I didn't want dialog boxes popping up to obstruct the view of the user, so I made a mental trigger that would cause dialog in the form of simple text in the Times Roman font to appear to pop up a foot away in front of the user's eyes. This was only the default, though. I established a settings button on the user's thumbs and forefingers, forcing anyone who wanted to make adjustments to make the classic hand position while meditating in order to change anything. They could change the size, position, color, and font of the letters, as well as notification times.
So what kind of support should I give any recruits? Well, first of all, I would need to connect their souls and Will to my Hell, so that if they actually died, they would reincarnate and have the possibility of Ascension through Hell and then Heaven. Speaking of, I need to make that process official.
I reached out and twisted the Laws of Hell. Any demon or monster that made it to the point of being ready to Ascend and reached my number 100 island could try to make it through a gauntlet. I would throw bolts of fire, water, earth, air, and pure raw magic at them. If they made it through the door on the far side of my island, they would go to Heaven.
I thought about that for a second. I didn't want to make it too easy for sinners to repent. They would have to show some improvement in character. I smiled. My gauntlet would be harder on those who were not loyal to me, and Heaven's Gate would need to be activated by three equals in power. To balance the added difficulty, I eased the level restriction from level 99 to level 90 up.
Turning my attention back to my new user interface, I decided to start with class selection. Force usage couldn't be imprinted properly, and Faith cultivation was probably out, but I left both as hidden classes. The cultivation methods I could give them were mana and qi based. So the next dialog box after the "Choose Class" button would have two options, "Qi" and "Mana".
Pressing "Qi" would let the user see two more options: "Core" and "Infusion". Core cultivations have set statistic bonuses; for example, a heart core came with incredible all around PHYS bonuses. While a user could pick more than one core, it would double the amount of qi necessary to level up. Concept cores, which are cores from abstract ideas, required a certain level of the Will stat to conceive, so I locked that behind growing the stat to 20.
An Infusion cultivation was similar to body cultivation descriptions in wuxia novels. While there was a core, but it was under System's purview and not within the user's body or aegis. System would create a core for the user based off of the Hero core, along with the guided reinforcement pathways. The options under "Infusion" all were what stat(s) the user wished to focus on, if any. It was possible for a user to not have any stat growth in his cultivation in return for a reduced amount of qi needed to level up. Since he would become more reliant on his own Will with each level, he would still become more resistant to damage as well as heal more quickly with each level gained.
After the selection of the cultivation method, there would be an additional dialogue asking if they wanted elemental qi. I would have to disclose that the drawbacks of elemental qi include mutations and personality shifts, as well as the increased amounts of energy required for leveling up. It only differed from mana cultivation in that the energy was altered as it was absorbed.
There were two options for elemental qi cultivation. One, which I titled "External Elemental Cultivation", would be to cultivate a present and available for absorption ourside source, thus adding mana cultivation to the qi cultivation model. However, External Elemental Cultivation would also be grayed out with no available source. Another, which I titled "Internal Elemental Cultivation", would be for the user to supply the Concept for the elemental qi, cultivating his own personal Concept. While this was more in line with the core Qi Path of Ascension, the power of the Element cultivated would be entirely up to the user's Will power and visualization abilities.
That was the end of the qi cultivation class of cultivation, so I looked back at the mana cultivation class. Looking at the selection buttons, I quickly added descriptors in italics. The buttons were now:
MANA
Absorb a different Will's Concept energy to alter your stats and abilities.
QI
Absorb energy and make it you, Defining yourself as you see fit.
Mana was definitely the easier Path, but I hoped that the description would lead them down the less restrictive qi cultivation route.
I also added BACK buttons on all the screens to allow free exploration of my leveling interface's options.
Going back to the MANA CULTIVATION button, the next screen should be list of available element(s) the user can cultivate. This would vary from world to world depending on the applicable Laws, so the list was linked to the local World Law Book. I made a separate memory folder for World Law Books in System's mind, and made it that each Law book would be saved as worlddesignation_Systemdatetime.wlb. I also added my personal Laws of Strength, Indestructible, Space, and Mind as cultivation options under a separate section on the bottom. That would be my personal gift to my followers. I then added safeties so that opposing elements couldn't be picked without a balancing element being picked with them.
Compared to the complexity of qi cultivation, mana cultivation was much simpler. The only screens left were confirmation screens to ensure that they really chose this Path of Ascension. Once confirmed, System would guide the user's Will to cultivate according to the selected method, correcting any errors or omissions arising from the user's inadequate Will. Since this would render the user unconscious, I went back and added a warning in red: ENSURE YOU ARE SOMEWHERE SAFE AND PRIVATE BEFORE LEVELING UP!
The next item to consider was what attributes to evaluate, as well as how I was going to evaluate levels. Each Reality requires different concentrations of Possibility in order for an inhabitant to Ascend to godhood, so I had to use some sort of measuring standard for the levels. A good measure would be to use increases in attribute scores, but I faced the problem of a standard measure there as well. Attribute scores among the uncultivated masses varied so widely that if I were to use them to evaluate what the average in an attribute was, they would not be indicative of a normal number.
I could have my user analysis evaluate how many pounds or kilograms a user can affect or move, but that would vary from body part to body part. So instead I decided to break down what an individual is capable of into Concepts. There are three main areas of possible improvement, PHYS or physical statistics representing how well the user affects his world via his soul vehicle, MND or mind stats representing how well the user can use his mindscape, and MAG or magic stats representing how well the user can affect Reality with just Will alone.
I could break down each area even more, using technical Concepts for a more comprehensive descriptor. My only problem with that is the problem with having too many numbers to keep track of. But versus the problems of approximating numbers that would come with combining things like dexterity and agility, it was a worthwhile obstacle to overcome. I would only have base stats tracked like Strength, leaving 2nd tier stats like Speed to be calculated by the .
PHYS breaks down into:
- STR or strength representing the amount of influence one's body can exert on the world around him. Increasing this makes one's muscles be more effective. It can also make muscles grow if using the local Laws of Reality for increases.
- AGI or agility representing twitch reaction and reflex speed. Increasing this helps one's muscles be more efficient at moving, as well as streamlining the signal system used by the brain to control the muscles. Great for increasing movement speed without bounding around like you are on the moon.
- DEX or dexterity represents a user's body's response accuracy and efficiency. While AGI is speed and explosive power, DEX is refined motor control response.
- CON or constitution for representing one's resistance to damage from disease
- DUR or durability for representing one's resistance to damage from external factors such as overexertion or falling off a building. Actually, this was a second tier stat of STR and CON, so I removed it from the main attributes list.
- REG or regeneration represents one's ability to recover from damage and disease
- STA or stamina represents how long a measure of STR can be maintained to affect the world around
MNT breaks down into:
- PRS or processing speed representing the speed at which one's mind operates
- PRP or processing power representing how many variables can be processed at the same time
- STM or short term memory represents a combination of fidelity, capacity, and degradation
- LTM or long term memory representing how well memories are organized and accessed, as well as their fidelity, capacity, and degradation
- VIS or visualization representing the capacity for imagination, i.e. mental simulation
- PER or perception representing how well the mind notices what it's processing
- COR or coordination representing how well the mind is connected to what is under its aegis
- MFA or mental fatigue representing mental energy reserves
MAG base attributes are:
- MCP or magic capacity representing how much raw energy the user can hold ready within without his Definition fraying
- MGR or magic regeneration represents the strength of the connection one has with the raw forces of Possibility.
- MGD or magical density represents the power concentration within one's body. The most relevant statistic when evaluating how far along the Path of Ascension a cultivator is.
- ESP or extrasensory perception representing how far and well a person can spread his aegis and thus feel what happens within it. There are abilities that are mistaken for this, but are actually a case of mana mutation. For example, children susceptible to seeing and hearing ghosts is less because they have a higher ESP score than because they absorbed the Concept of... That actually depends on the world, but usually the Concept of Connection. Mana Sight is a mana mutation stemming from absorbing a form of the Concept of Mana itself.
- RES or resistance represents how much of one's body exists because of one's own Will. As one continues on the Path of Ascension, conventional weapons will harm him less and less, but will never stop affecting him somewhat if he wishes to remain attached to that particular Reality.
- WLL or Will represents the consciousness, the ability to change the world and oneself through an application of power, be it physical, mental, or magical. A higher Will means that one can accomplish much more with less power at their disposal.
- FOC or Focus represents how well Will connects with one's mental processes
I made it so that initially only PHYS, MND, and MGC would show up, and their base attributes would unroll when one of three categories were chosen through mental or physical command. I would let users figure out 2nd tier stats like Speed (AGI+STR) or Reflex (AGI+DEX) on their own. I made a note that I would have to figure how to calculate the variable stats of Health, Durability, Stamina, Magic, and Fatigue.
To determine what numbers to use, I decided to use standardized tests to determine what values to assign to each statistic. System would Analyze the user, and run a virtual copy through a series of testing environments with standardized movements designed to stress a single attribute at a time.
The STR test used an underwater environment and measured how much water the user would displace when his body was put through an exercise regime designed to stress every part of the body. Every hundred liters displaced throughout the workout was one point of STR.
The AGI test involved some bondage, with the user's virtual body suspended in a network of rubber bands. Each band would be pulled a foot to start with, and the body had to quickly snap back to position, with the time it took to do so measured to determine AGI, with every inch moved in the first half second counting as one point in AGI.
Like the previous tests, the DEX test involved no gravity, and specifically required the body under System's mental commands to avoid the user's COR score from skewing results. I pondered on the issue of measuring precision, and then thought of the fat finger fumble issue. So I made the test just bashing at a button surrounded by other objects as hard as possible with each part of the body until the fff occurs. Each button mash was one point of DEX.
CON was an easy test. I just had to sit the body in a vat of diseases and poison and count how many days it would last for CON points. I changed the score to one every ten seconds when I remembered how many deadly poisons there are.
I stopped and thought about just resetting all new users scores to 10 and 10 would represent what I thought was normal instead of all this testing. However, I would need an analysis toolkit for non user examinations anyways, so putting effort in that direction was wasteful until I created my first leveling world.
The STA test consisted of going through the same workout routine the STR test did at a standard speed, but with no resistance this time, until the body dropped dead. Each hour the body survived was one point of STA.
The REG test consisted of crumpling the body up and tossing it in a vat of nutrient fluid. This stuff only provided the necessary materials for repair without any REG boosts. Each liter of fluid absorbed was one point of REG.
I went back and changed the DEX test to how well the body could follow an increasingly intricate workout routine. System would create an outline to be followed, and each perfectly followed routine was one point in DEX.
I thought about how to test mental attributes. Creating a virtual copy of a mind wasn't too difficult. Then for stress tests, I didn't have to rely on the mind to give answers as System could directly view the mind's performance in the VMD.
For PRS, System would send a bunch of individual dots over, and evaluate how many dots were processed, meaning recognized and sent to the mind's visualization or memory in one second. Each dot would be one point in PRS.
For PRP, System would have the mind visualize one dot, and then another, and so on until the mind can't hold any more dot pictures. Each dot is a point in PRP.
The LTM test required a simple shunt of a complex memory involving a series of arrows pointing in random directions directly into the virtual long term mental storage of the user. Every arrow recalled accurately would be a point in the stat.
The STM test was the same, but involved sending the same memory to the short term memory storage.
Visualization was hard. It technically could be termed a third tier stat because of how it relied on PRP, PRS, and UND, but was also its own thing. It was also the Creative stat, as imagination was integral to art that had verisimilitude. I reset VIS as a third tier stat and changed the stat being tested to the Creative, or CRE stat. This was easier to test, and I set the test as uploading a screenshot of a grocery section unknown to the user. Every additional detail added would be a point in CRE.
I decided that Perception was also a second tier stat, based on Senses and Understanding. Senses, or SEN, would be tested by System utilizing the virtual body to determine how much and how far it can detect things. Like STR, SEN has multiple sub stats, but doesn't count as higher tier because of how people view themselves.
This actually leads into the most important point I need to keep in mind when constructing a stat page. Stats will define a user's Path of Ascension, because self image is incredibly important as to how Qi affects a person. Too many stats and too detailed a stat list will confuse rather than provide Definition, which is why every leveling world generally has a short stat list. The skills list is generally unlimited due to two factors, one being that skills are just actual knowledge possessed by the user, and the second being that they aren't as much part of a character as stats are.
Furthermore, some of the stats I have are Concepts that contain other Concepts, and so can't really be termed "base" statistics. I went and shoved the whole stat page that I'd built to the side and started fresh.
Now there were three main stats to pay attention to. BODY, MIND, and SOUL. Each would be broken down to a further three: POWER, RESILIENCE, and PERCEPTION. Any further breakdowns would depend on how the user Defined himself, thus personalizing their Path of Ascension. While what a user saw initially depended on his outlook on himself, I did add a CUSTOMIZE button to the stat list in order to provide a way for a user to manually shift the way he wished to Define himself. For example, while now I would see POWER under BODY break down into a simpler STRENGTH, SPEED, and DEXTERITY, due to my ReDefining when I Ascended, I would have originally seen numbers for each bendable part of my body. An ordinary user who was as meticulous in his self perception might prefer to keep it simple if he was magically strengthening himself.
In order to consolidate statistics like the strength of every finger into one for the whole hand and then the whole body, I would have to figure out an appropriate way to keep things proportionate. Of course.
I decided to start simple. The BODY test of moving gallons of water would have to be run virtually until every motion was done with the same force, keeping the POWER variable steady. The RESILIENCE variable would be how long the tester could last at his steady output. So the equation would be P x R = T (time) x G (gallons). However, this has the detriment of making RESILIENCE be relative to POWER, rather than be an absolute number. So I still needed a test for RESILIENCE that had each tester output a POWER of 1, or one gallon per minute, and seeing how many hours the tester lasts.
Next was creating a test for POWER that kept the RESILIENCE variable steady. System simply needed to pace the tester so that they would die from exhaustion exactly one minute in, and measure how many gallons are moved.
For SENSES, I made the test in the same environment for the sake of consistency, and made the test feeling as many faint sensations as possible within a two second period.
Turning to MIND, I made the POWER test how long an equation the tester can mentally figure in one minute. Each additional variable solved was a point.
The RESILIENCE test was to watch over a virtual crowded marketplace, following an individual as it made its rounds and regularly robbed random merchants. Each merchant was a point.
For the SENSE test, I had the tester visualize an orb of color swirling around him. Each orb added was a point in SENSE.
I then moved on to SOUL. POWER would be tested by giving the tester a pure energy attack spell and seeing how many targets could be blown up in five seconds. Each target was a point.
RESILIENCE would be tested by seeing how long the tester could maintain a standard armor spell capable of stopping a punch. Each second was a point.
SENSE would be tested by placing the virtual tester in a virtual landscape filled with magical and non magical items. Each magic item identified within ten seconds was a point.
I made sure that System would keep the other tests I constructed, and left guidelines on how to create new ones for new or more specific attributes. Basically, isolate the variable, and standardize the measure.
My status screen would not end up with a curved progression like some game systems out there, but a linear progression, which was much nicer in my opinion.
One more thing. I currently had levels set to go to 100 when the optimum amount of magical energy had been absorbed. I decided to keep it that way. Each level showed innate resistance to outside influences, with a level 100 able to completely cut himself off from a world, albeit with possible fatal consequences.
I commanded, "CREATE!"