A missing overview

Looking back over his shoulder to make sure Sybill, his new party member, was properly looking out for threats, Jay opened his systems menu.

Glad the interface was still looking the same as when he arrived in this world, he navigated to his skill list.

Still keeping an eye on the road and to his surroundings, Jay opened it to set the skills he had pending and check on the rest. His horse kept following the road on its own and he even had someone else on the lookout, so it was just the right time.

The first skill he had to set was a fire magic spell he seemingly had earned himself with ranking up the elemental magic.

(to be set...) blinked in a line, waiting for his action as it looked like a free spell to choose instead of a given spell. Clicking on said line opened another screen with only three skills written on it.

Those spells available were (Scorch), (Pyroblast) and (Blast Wave).

With the last being a big no thanks to it being a multi directional spell and not very practical in groups, the decision had to be made between the other two.

(Scorch) was a fast cast spell, dealing direct damage from what Jay learned.

Touching the spell written on the screen had enabled him to learn the characteristics and effect, so he at least knew what he would choose.

This way he learned about (Pyroblast) as well. It was a spell dealing massive direct damage and incinerated the target as well, dealing even more damage. On the other hand it had a longer casting time.

As it read, the latter skill sounded more like a similar spell to his Fireballs when he loaded them with more mana thanks to his control. That was the reason Jay went with the (Scorch) spell first, having another fast cast at his disposal.

Damage over time was not his forte and he had yet to encounter a opponent strong enough to be worthy of such spells.

After Checking on his invented (Meteor) spell that got integrated in the list, Jay went to his second skill to set.

This one was of the Night skills section and as he hadn't leveled it up, Jay guessed it had to do with his Philanderer job.

At least it had been there since he had hit level five in exactly that job.

His options in this one were again three, showing on the same screen: (Geyser), (Flexible) and (Horny).

With none of them sounding too pleasant, Jay checked them one after another.

(Geyser) did exactly what it sounded like, boosting the quantity of secreted fluids. Had it been the opposite, Jay would have gladly chosen it to make less of a mess in his coming encounters.

This one was definitely no good choice.

(Flexible) was pretty much the same in doing what it sounded like.

It was completely out of option to take this one as it would drastically enhance the flexibility of genitals. Who would want to have a slobbery rubber tube down there?

After that one, even (Geyser) sounded acceptable, even if it would have been one of the skills that were not possible to deactivate.

With the hopes going up for (Horny), even though it didn't sound too promising, Jay read the description of his last option.

The last skill would boost the libido, making one ready for nightly activities in nearly any situation. Not too bad, contrary to how it sounded.

Jay had feared it would have him run around with a boner most of the time, but it sounded quite usable. He simply was glad he could hide it from his skill list so no one would read it.

At least it was better than the other options.

Making his choice and looking at the skill list, Jay got surprised as it even was one of the skills he could set to ON or OFF.

Deciding to test it out if it really had no negative influx, he left it on.

His skill list kept growing longer and longer. With the skills descriptions it looked even more overwhelming. If he kept collecting skills at a similar rate, he would need some way to sort them or he'd totally forget some.

Even up to this point he had quite a lot skills he had never really used like Axe- or shield-skills, as well as the barrier magic.

But better having than needing.

***

Skills (shown):

[Mana Control LVL 5]

manage the mana output of spells, allowing to charge then up

[Spell Weaving LVL1]

reshape spells spending additional mana

(Spell Fusion LVL 1)

combine up to 2 Spells

[Fire magic LVL 4]

-fire spells cost 25% less mana

(Fireball LVL 4)

-cast a Fireball dealing high damage

has a chance to inflame the target

(Firewall LVL 2)

-cast a Wall of Fire burning what ever touches it

(Scorch LVL 1)

fast cast spell dealing direct damage in a wave

(Meteor LVL 1)

fused Magic of earth and fire, creating a burning rock that explodes on impact

[Arcane Magic LVL 4]

-arcane spells deal 25% more damage

(Arcane Missiles LVL 2)

homing projectile of pure magic energy

(Mana Shield LVL 2)

-accelerates the distribution and acquisition of Mana

(Arcane Blast LVL 1)

deal high damage to close enemies and push them back

Skills (Hidden):

Basic:

(Common)

-enables to talk, read and write Common

(Thalassian)

-enables to talk, read and write high Elvish

(Gnomish)

-enables to talk, read and write Gnomen dialect

[Night vision]

-enables colorless vision in total darkness

[Camping LVL 1]

-Rest outside well

[Hunting LVL 2]

-enhances damage against animals by 40%

(Tracking LVL 2)

-allows to easily track targets lower than your Level

[Lumbering LVL 2]

-proficiency with Axes risen: Damage +20%

[Cooking LVL 4]

cooking speed and taste +20%, for learned recipes +40%

[Service LVL 3]

enables and lightens the burden of service related work

[Trickery LVL 4]

notice and figure out trickery up to your skill level +1

(Pickpocket LVL 1)

pickpocket targets up to your base level

(Lock-picking LVL 3)

open locks up to good grade

[Night skills LVL 6]

-enhances pleasure given by 90%

(All night long LVL 3)

-you can go on 3 Times without pause after 1st Climax

(Sexual Stamina LVL 3)

-enhances the sexual stamina by 100%

(Lubed)

secret slimy fluids on genitals to erase friction

(Horny LVL 1)

ready for nightly activities anytime once a day

(Contraception)

-reduced fertility – ON

(forced erection)

forced blood supply to genitals, may cause pain and harm

[Haggling LVL 3]

enhances success-rate when negotiating a deal

(Overcharge LVL 2)

-sell anything for 10% more

(Discount LVL 1)

-get a discount of 5% on each purchase

[Persuasion LVL 2]

higher chance to convince others of your ideas

[Alcohol tolerance LVL 2]

Alcohol has 20% less effect

.

.

.

Just as he checked up the skills down to [Alcohol tolerance], Jay spotted some movement in the far distance to the south.

Closing his menu and giving sign to Sybill on the carriage, Jay dismounted and walked in front of the carriage that had slowed down considerably.

With them closing in on the Saldema's farm that had been taken over, an ambush could happen at any time.

As the farm came into view, it happened just as they had anticipated.

Seeing a group of people rushing towards them from the south, Jay casted a negating barrier, as well a a counter magic barrier around the Farmer and his wife while he readied himself.

It proved to be the right decision as an arrow came flying for Patric Saldema and got stuck in the barrier. With a surprised look on his face, the farmer steered the carriage around Jay who waited for the bandits to get into his reach.

Jay got surprised a bit by the efficiency of his barrier as it should have normally only negated 40 percent of the attack.

Dismissing this thoughts for the moment as the attack was still incoming, Jay turned back to the aggressors.

He counted seven, ...six after Sybill shot three consecutive arrows into one of the two women in the group of bandits that came rushing in. Another two of the bandits kept shooting arrows to the carriage from some distance, while the other four rushed in.

Three of them arrived close to Jay after he had erased the head from the fourth with a arcane missile.

Wielding his fire magic, Jay got rid of the next one that closed in on him. With his poor dagger, the bandit had been no threat at all and ended by a charred hole in his chest. A simple straight punch from Jay had been too much for him.

Latter dodged slightly back as an arrow flew past him and stuck to the throat of the second female bandit. Sybill had jumped from the carriage and came supporting Jay.

With a (Scorch) to the left and a sweeping kick to the right, Jay attacked the last bandits simultaneously to show the archer he really didn't need help.

Crushing the head of the then lying down bandit that got kicked, using a fully loaded blow downward from his right fist, Jay walked over to the last remaining bandit.

The woman was lying on the ground, scorched and with the arrow still sticking to her throat. With a kick to her neck he ended the bandit.

At the same time his party member finally had started shooting at the two bandits with bows, but the damage had already been done.

Quite a bit down the road, Jay saw the carriage, again with a heavy slant driving on. Even further behind though, Jay saw something else.

A big bandit stood there with a war axe over his shoulder, blocking the road off completely. Asking the Archer in a shout if she was good alone, Jay had already jumped in a sprint. Barely receiving her consent, Jay rushed on.

As the carriage was already severely damaged to begin with and the last few attacks having taken a toll as well, fleeing was impossible for the farmer couple.

Just as the bandit brandished his axe, Jay arrived at the carriage.

The bandit had already lifted the big axe he wielded to attack the carriage at the moment when Jay stepped forward.

Wearing an evil grin, it already had shown to Jay that talking was useless, so he jumped straight to action.

As the axeblade descended towards the mount pulling the carriage, Jay had boosted his legs with mana and flew forward in high speed. Only a meter or two from the bandit he tuned and jumped legs first into the massive man.

Boring his soles deep in the mans guts and sending him flying, Jay had grabbed the axe over the mans hand, pulling it away to a parabolic arc with force and missing its target very narrow. At the same time this action dislocated the bandits shoulder, though this was the least of his worries.

With the axe flying away like a Frisbee as Jay had let go of it after it passed the carriage and animal, the bandit landed some yards away from Jay who had equally crashed to the ground.

His landing was not really too good, but way better than the rolling bandit.

Only after standing up did Jay see the other three and a half bandits that stood between him and the man he so unceremoniously kicked away, at the sides of the road.

They all wore shocked expressions, except the half one as he was missing his upper body.

Looking around a bit more, Jay saw the reason for that lonely pair of legs standing at the road, as the war axe that flew through the air seemingly had split the man in half, horizontally.

Getting back to his senses, Jay shot a quick slotted arcane missile and a equal fireball to the two men closest to him, while the man to the back on the left dropped his sword and ran away.

A second volley of a arcane missile finished the man on the right while Jay crossed the distance to the man on the left. Grabbing him by his collar, he punched the man so hard, the cracking of his sternum was heard even by the big bandit that was gradually trying to stand up.

Taking up the two daggers his last victim had dropped, Jay hurled them in the direction of their leader. But to said mans surprise, the weapons missed him by a large margin.

Only the sound of something hitting and a gurgling death-cry from behind him elucidated him, those daggers were not meant for him, but his fleeing companion.

Falling an his knees after he so painstakingly managed to stand up, the bandit was ready to beg for his life.

This time they had picked the wrong one to fight.

The last thing he saw after Jay walked over to the kneeling bandit, was the hand of the youth descending on his head as it seemingly crackled with lightning.

And then darkness befell him...