Chapter 8-4
No one knows exactly how the System gives monsters their names. Certainly, many dungeon monsters bear striking resemblance to ‘fictional’ creatures from stories that long pre-date the System’s arrival on Earth.
Whether this is cause, effect, or coincidence is unknown.
Some posit that every monster in existence today originates from mankind’s own imagination, yet with the vast majority of pre-System fiction lost forever, this theory cannot be verified. In contrast, others assert that monsters were once native to Earth in some ancient era, only to be wiped out by the ascendance of humans and then ‘restored’ by the System. While not strictly falsifiable, this theory stretches credulity to its very limits.
- Rufus Veres, Level 29 Prolix Historian, Oddities of the System
This was going to be a much harder decision than my prior Skill selections, I quickly realized. Without any obvious throwaway options like Instant Replenishment, I was left with three desirable Skills. Worse, this was the last Skill I’d earn in Tier 0 as Level 9 didn’t grant one, though I would get my first Skill from my Class Evolution when I reached Tier 1 at Level 10.
That meant there was a decent chance I’d never get another chance at any of these Skills if I didn’t take them now. I’d come to the conclusion over the last few months that my Aspect would push me to take only Class Evolutions and no Class Refinements. It wasn’t hard to deduce that feeding the Aspect of Versatility would require broadening my Skills further instead of continuing to focus on developing the same ones.
Reluctantly, I ruled out Ricochet. I thought it sounded amazing, but I was afraid to make my last Skill selection as a Gunner something that was so dependent on chance. That left me deciding between Run and Gun and Pierce. Both could be incredibly useful – I knew Run and Gun was Wasted impressive, since Arlo had it. Then G’hala reminded me of something we’d learned in Skill Theory.
<Run and Gun is something you could come close to replicating with hard work,> she noted.
<I doubt I could ever really do that without the Skill,> I replied, but I recognized what she was saying.
We’d been taught that it was generally more useful to take Skills with effects that couldn’t be achieved any other way. I hadn’t had a ton of chances to work on shooting while moving faster than a deliberate walk, but I could train for it. I debated waiting until we were out of the dungeon to talk with Wolf, but I was confident he’d agree that Pierce was the best choice.
I was very happy with my new 00 buckshot, but it was still only rated as ‘medium’ for penetration. Two mana per shot of Pierce wasn’t cheap, but should make it fairly powerful. Resolved, I selected Pierce, then asked PAST for my reward chest.
It was quite small, though my hopes of finding another Spell gem were dashed when I opened it and saw it was an omni-mod instead. I attuned it, then started cursing under my breath as I read the description.