Markets and Multiverses (A Serial Transmigration LitRPG)

After the first wave of monsters was dealt with, our group of hero trainees and trainers retreated from the front lines. Most of the trainers buzzed around Sallia in particular - after all, in this fight Sallia had outperformed even the average adult warriors of our clan. I felt a bit bad for the other children, since it really wasn’t a fair competition - Sallia had a massive pile of advantages that they didn’t have. Even so, I was gratified to see Sallia being appreciated by the trainers.

Perhaps because my actions had been a bit more discreet and hard to notice, the trainers were paying less attention to me - but I still noticed a few of them throwing thoughtful glances my way as we trudged through the snow back towards the village-bearing beast. Clearly, my performance hadn’t gone unnoticed, even if it was less flashy than Sallia’s actions.

We weren’t the only group that retreated from the front lines. Most of the warriors retreated some distance from the battlefield in order to rest and recover, although about a quarter of them remained, and several scouts streamed in and out of the woods on a regular basis. According to our trainers, it was normal for the first wave of monsters to be the strongest and the most dangerous, so every warrior in the clans who was in fighting condition was called to the front lines to help resist them. Then, the waves of monsters tended to get weaker, so injured or tired warriors were pulled off of the front lines to get medical attention, rest, and generally prepare for the next battle. After all, the further away a monster was from the ember, the less likely they were to sense it.

Even though some of the trainers were eyeing me for a conversation after the battle, I asked them for some time to go over my status screen, which they respected. I was eager to see what had changed after our battle. The first one I focused on were the System notifications from the local System. I wanted to see how many levels I had gotten in my current spark.

You have leveled up! Ice Mage has advanced from level 22 to level 26!

+5 Free Stat Points (X4) +2 Sense (X4) +2 Mind (X4) +2 Vitality (X4) +4 Mana (X4)

Despite the fact that the enemies this time were stronger than the ones I had killed to get to level twenty, I had only gained four levels. This was quite a difference from the full six levels I had gained from killing a monster when I was level 0. I was definitely starting to notice the impact of diminishing returns from slaughtering monsters as we got to higher levels. Even so, I was happy with the boost to my stats and my Achievement. As usual, I tossed all of my points into mana, before I checked my next System notification. This one was from the Market’s System instead of the local one.

Power: You have leveled up your Secondary Spark (X4)

Achievement + 800

The extra 800 Achievement brought my Achievement total from 136,524 Achievement to 137,324. It wasn’t a huge change, but I was never going to complain about having more Achievement.

The next Market System notifications were just extra rewards for the fight.

Slaughter: You have killed a tundra strider for the first time, you have assisted in killing a tundra strider for the first time Influence: You have helped defend the ember against a monster attack

Achievement + 1,200, Achievement +200, Achievement +420

This was another small boost to Achievement, and brought me from 137,324 to 139,144.

Far more important was my next Market notification:

Endless Hunger of the Ocean has devoured tundra strider for the first time. New Skill created.

Snow-Stepper: As long as you are touching snow, you may spend a significant amount of essence to solidify the ground beneath your feet, and then infuse your body with a small amount of frost energy. Then, based on your understanding of ice, snow, and momentum, you create a shield that will protect you and propel you forward at exaggerated speeds.

I hadn’t even realized it until I read the skill, but the magic deer had leapt over a line of spearman while moving through supposedly treacherous snow. Agility alone wouldn’t let them do that - magic had clearly been at work. I looked at my new ability, before I smiled and added it to one of my skill slots. I wasn’t sure how much I needed the ability, since launching myself in different directions seemed like a poor choice as a support mage. Still, the ability to solidify the ground beneath my feet wasn’t a bad skill to have on hand when we were perpetually surrounded by snow. I wished there was a way to give my skills to my friends, though - Sallia would probably become even more terrifying with this skill added to her usual physical abilities and speed.

In addition to the normal rewards from killing monsters, there was one more thing that I had gotten from fighting and killing an enemy.

I had already felt subtle effects from my first feat, {Above your Weight Class}, when I covertly assisted the town in killing a few monsters. However, the tundra strider I had killed this time let me experience just how potent this skill was for the second time - and it was far more noticeable than when I had killed the strange flying creatures, perhaps due to the fact that these deer were actually using at least one snow-related type of magic.

At some point during the fight, I had finally crossed the threshold from Tier 1 to Tier 2 of {Basic Ice Manipulation}.

Skill: You have increased your {Basic Ice Manipulation} Skill to Intermediate Grade

Achievement + 2,500

This brought me from 139,144 Achievement to 141,644 Achievement.

Since you have trained Ice Manipulation to [Intermediate] Grade for the first time, upon your death you will have the option to purchase [Intermediate Ice Manipulation] as an ability, for the cost of 8000 Achievement. This Ability has the following effects:

Keywords: None This Ability will create a shared pool of essence using your manifestation and binding essence abilities. You may use essence from this shared pool to manipulate nearby ice, or create it from scratch if no ice is available. Ice can be significantly hardened, flung around at high velocities, and gain high flexibility based on essence input. It also enhances the speed at which you can regain [Intermediate] grade for this skill. Reaching [Basic] grade will enhance your manifestation essence stat by 5, and Intermediate will increase your manifestation essence stat by 15. Glut Penalty: 15 Note: This Ability relies upon binding and manifestation essence, but contains no way to generate more of either type of essence. Please keep this in mind before purchase.

Unfortunately, the new Market Ability I could purchase didn’t have anything that was wildly superior to its basic grade version. It was clearly better, but it hadn’t gotten any truly revolutionary additions.

In addition to the Market reward for the battle, the local System had also given me a reward for reaching Tier 2 in a skill.

You have increased your Basic Ice Manipulation Skill to Tier 2

Mana + 20

After seeing my rewards for the fight, I was more than a little bit excited for our next fight. After all, a single battle had already been quite profitable.

Sadly, the next two days, the monsters failed to attack the front lines during the times when I and the other hero candidates were on duty. I could only attribute this to bad timing - monster attacks were always far less predictable after the first wave, and it wasn’t like I could spend every minute on the front lines. I had to rest, eat, sleep, and occasionally lend a hand healing other warriors. It wasn’t a big deal, though - I was sure that there would be plenty of opportunities to farm more Achievement and levels in the future.

After four days, a few of the scouts found a rare tree root that could be fed to the ember in order to enhance its strength. The ember spent another day and a half absorbing it, before we started moving again. The hero trainees and I moved to the next town in queue, and continued to train as we awaited our next battle.

Months once again began to pass by.

The week after I turned six years old, a new surprise came.

“Town spotted!” Yelled one of the scouts. “And it looks like monsters are overrunning it!”