Dominus put her arms down against my chest in a sort of loose hug. “Without using any of my knowledge of what you’re going to deal with in the future,” she looked off into the distance for a second before nodding, “I’d be aiming to hit two hundred in [Agility], three hundred in [Wits] and [Charm], and four hundred in [Arcane] and [Divine] before reaching Sunhome. Moving forward, I’d focus ninety percent of my gains on those Stats, with [Divine] and [Arcane] each getting twenty-five percent, [Wits] and [Charm] getting seventeen and a half percent, and [Agility] taking up the remaining five percent. The rest can be used to patch any small deficiencies you find in your other Stats, though I’d recommend using up the rest of your [Moonsilver Powder] before putting any points into [Might], you’ve got enough to push you all the way to the hundred you need without spending a single earned point on it.”

  “Anyone else would have had to take a breath in there, impressive.” I hugged her arms gratefully. “I think I’d like to push [Perception] up to two hundred too, it’s just so close it’d be a shame to miss out on the Boon at that level.”

  “I concur, in fact–” She snorted before squeezing me tight to her bosom. “Cheeky Chosen, you got some free advice just there, didn’t you? Brat.” Her cheery tone contrasted her words, but I knew which was her real reaction and which was for the System and her awful children. “What’s your last question?”

  “Should I lean into summoning more, focus on combat magic instead, or mix those up in a meaningful way I haven’t thought of yet?” I hoped I wasn’t overstepping the bounds of our agreement, but Skills definitely fell under the purview of a build, so I thought I should be good.

  “Another good question, especially since I didn’t stipulate the questions had to be related to Stats.” She fake pouted for a second before laying her chin on top of my head. “I’d say to focus a bit more on summons, but don’t rely entirely on elementals. They may be powerful and cheap to summon, seeing as they basically only cost Mana, but at least one more summoning Spell in your arsenal would do you quite well. If you keep it up, your Path will evolve into something impressive at level fifty and I can’t wait to hear your reaction then.” She squeezed me once more before relaxing back against the back of the couch.

  “No more slacking, get those Stats allotted so we can talk about your Skills next.”

  For a moment, I considered pushing for more information, but the look in her eyes told me that wasn’t going to happen.

  [Level Up - Step 1 of 2

  Stat Distribution:

  Might: 56

  Agility: 178 → 200

  Toughness: 140 (Currently 200 due to bond with Ylsa)

  Charm: 151 → 201

  Wits: 222

  Perception: 180 → 200

  Arcane: 350 → 364

  Divine: 350 → 364]

  [Confirm Stat Point Distribution? Y/N]

  [Level Up - Step 2 of 2

  You may choose Dominated Skills and Claim them. This will add them to your normal [Skill List]. Normal Skills cost one point while Unique Skills cost five and [Monster Skills] cost ten.]

  Claim Points Remaining: 8]

  Part of me just wants to sit on the points and see if there’s a Monster Skill I want to pick up next level. Now that I think of it, I’ve seen monsters use a ton of Skills and never had [Skill Dominance] activate…time to ask for help.

  “Can you explain how I can get access to a Monster Skill please? I feel like I should have had the opportunity by now.”

  I glanced over to check on Grandpa and found him still animatedly talking with Jaegan, this time about their notably similar Signature Skills, though Grandpa’s [Thousand Rays of Destruction] was obviously on a far grander scale than [Wallbreaker], both specialized in using beams to destroy things.

  “I guess my System request to remove that feature didn’t go through. Drat.” Dominus ran her fingers through her luxurious blonde tresses. “The reason it hasn’t triggered is that your body isn’t ready for it to trigger. I put in safeguards to prevent it from destroying you like it did my first Chosen. The minimum requirement for even having a chance of snagging a Monster Skill is fifty percent mastery of [Skill Dominance] and one hundred in each Stat. I won’t have my Chosen get overwhelmed like some flunky again. It was, frankly, fucking embarrassing to have my own kids giving me shit about how awful my Chosen was.”

  I winced as I remembered the image of her first Chosen, high as a kite on a ship piled high with women in a similar state, if not worse, before he was killed. Part of me still wanted a Monster Skill, but I decided I was going to wait to claim one until I had exactly the right one for me. I decided then to ask Dominus before even using a Monster Skill, let alone claiming it.

  Looking over my list of Dominated Skills, I couldn’t find any of them that I felt the burning need to have access to all the time except [Arcane Cannon] and [Heartsight], which I immediately added to the list. I ended up grabbing [Sun Armor] too, just to get it off my list of Slotted Skills so I could have some more flexibility in that department.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  [Level Up - Step 2 of 2

  Skills Claimed:

  Arcane Cannon

  Heartsight

  Sun Armor

  Claim Points Remaining: 5]

  [Confirm Claiming of Skills? Y/N]

  After finishing up my level up process, I felt my body sag into Dominus as the Stats applied and Claimed Skills settled into my mind. I lay there against her soft body for almost half an hour until Grandpa coughed.

  “Starchild, my time here isn’t infinite, as much as I wish it were.” His smile was still a mile wide as he took in the state of me and Dominus. “I can’t say Light and I were ever that close, but this last level up after becoming his Chosen he did show up to talk to me, so maybe I’m just not there yet.”

  Dominus pulled me in tighter for a moment before gently depositing me next to my grandfather. “You helped raise a phenomenal young man, Archibald, but I will smite you if you insult me.”

  She gave him a look I can only describe as ‘intensely loving’ and he held up his hands in surrender. “No offense intended and I apologize for any perceived slight. If his grandmother were still…”

  He trailed off when Dominus shook her head. “As a gift, I have a bit of information for you.”

  He threw himself toward her and I stopped him with speed that surprised even me, my new [Agility] was finally high enough to actually see him moving. His eyes were wide and his tone pleading. “Please, anything. Anything about my darling! Even if it’s bad, I need to know!”

  “Before I tell you, I need you to swear you won’t go on a warpath.” She held up her hand to stop him from raving. “In return, I’ll have Artie and The Dominion turn their forces against those responsible before the end of a year.” She held out a hand to shake. “Do we have an accord?”

  His hand shook as he raised it up to meet hers in a firm handshake. “W-w-we have an accord.” He pulled his hand back like she was a poisonous snake about to bite him. “What do you know about my darling Seraphina?” His voice was low, but strong as he stared at Dominus over my shoulder.

  “Your wife is alive,” he started bawling, but she pressed on, “and has been the captive of my most devious son, Wild, since she was trafficked to him nearly one hundred and fifty years ago. She’s used her [Aviomancer] abilities to turn into a phoenix every few years to avoid permanent injuries, including mental ones, and she still loves you fiercely.

  “He’s been using her blood to encourage the awakening of more [Aviomancers] in his flock, but since Artie enabled the evolution of races he’s getting worried she’ll evolve into a Solarian Primal Elf and escape her bonds. I attempted to offer her protection the moment Artie came into my circle, but was blocked by my son as he claimed her as spoils of war.”

  “What war?” Grandpa’s face was a mask of rage. “Who are we going to destroy the moment this year ends?”

  I looked between the two of them and gasped. “It’s Verdant, isn’t it! That’s why they’re cursed to not be able to level. Light must be censuring them for stealing Grandma.”

  “It’s uncanny.” Dominus beamed at me before turning to Grandpa once more. “Our favorite young man is entirely correct, if you’d believe that. He wasn’t able to tell you what happened with Wild blocking the information, but was able to utterly annihilate Verdant’s ability to act as a world power with his censuring of their people, though it wasn’t known by that name at the time.”

  Grandpa was practically vibrating with rage. After a few seconds, his eyes began leaking red and gold light and a moment later he popped out of existence.

  I whirled around to look at Dominus. “Where did he go? What just happened to Grandpa? I’ve never seen him do that thing with his eyes…”

  She patted my shoulder. “He woke himself up by activating a combat Skill out in the world. I just hope he’s in his study, if this mental construct is anywhere close to accurate, it should be able to contain his [Thousand Rays of Destruction] without destroying the whole building.”

  “That’s what those lights were?” My mind raced, I’d never seen him use his Signature Skill, despite asking a number of times as a kid. “Is there any way you can show me what he’s doing right now, out in the world?”

  “I’m sorry, but that’s outside the limits put upon gods and their Chosen during level up sessions.” She shook her head before nodding to a pair of System windows I had waiting for me. “Why don’t you look those over and then we can spend some more time together.”

  Grumbling, I did as she asked and was soon immersed in the land of Boons.

  [Speed Blur - Active Boon - For one minute per day per hundred Agility (split up into ten second chunks at a minimum), you can become partially incorporeal as your body vibrates out of phase. While in this state you take half damage from all non incorporeal sources and any damage you deal bypasses incorporeal resistances.]

  “Is it just me, or does this look different from the last time I got these? What’s an Active Boon versus a Passive Boon? Aren’t they just Skills?”

  Dominus grinned as she shimmied to wrap me up again. “I thought it was clunky the way it was, so I petitioned the System to make Boons more obvious when looking over your Status, you’re welcome! Plus, now those Boons you have to turn on will be more obvious, you’d be shocked how many people forget those things even exist…” She looked out into space with the same grin on her face. “You’re welcome.”

  Deciding to let her have her moment, I took another look at [Speed Blur].

  Not a bad defensive buff, despite the short duration, assuming I can activate it quickly. I’ll have to practice with it a bit, maybe Volta will shoot some arrows at me or something so I can get used to using it under fire… Ylsa definitely would, but she’s more likely to hurt me to get me to focus on the task at hand than Volta.

  With a shiver, I moved on to the Boon for two hundred [Charm].

  [Diplomatic Immunity - Passive Boon - You are immune to most forms of charm, enchantment, and mind control effects from beings with lower Charm than you. If a being has higher Charm than you, you still have a higher chance to resist it.]

  This thing is amazing! Immunity to charm effects under my [Charm] is a game changer with me entering the political circles I’m about to dive into. Tiny suggestive charms are just a part of the game and now I’m going to have a better time resisting them.

  [Echoes of the Past - Active Boon - You can faintly perceive traces of past events in your surroundings. By carefully observing your environment, you can glean information about what has happened in that location, such as past battles, hidden treasures, or even the presence of powerful beings. This might manifest as faint spectral images, lingering scents, or subtle vibrations in the ground.]

  Not quite as immediately useful as the other two, but I can see this being super helpful in my search for parts of the ships the humans of Genovia rode in on, depending on how far back it works. I’m assuming it’s based on how intense the emotions involved were and landing on a new world has to be freaking intense, so I’ve got at least a shot. Either way, I’m confident I’ll find a good use for it at some point or another.

  With no more notifications to go through, I spent the next two and a half hours playing shogi and other board games with Dominus. I never won, but I could feel myself getting better as we played and she praised me a few times for different gambits I attempted, pointing out where I could have done something better, but how what I chose was still a good idea.

  With my four hours of rest ending, Dominus wished me well with a kiss on the forehead that burned with power.

  “Three more Dungeons and half a dozen levels before you can enter Sunhome, though I think you’ll find the Dungeons you’ve got on your plate are perfectly chosen for your benefit.” She winked and the last thing I saw as I drifted out of sleep were her heterochromatic eyes dripping a starfield of tears.