Attributes

Heroic Spirits were spirits resembling the divine messengers of other worlds, formed through the long-lasting worship of dead heroes. No one knew exactly where they existed; only Spirit Shamans could summon them into the physical world. Heroic Spirits were generally legendary in strength. However, the Orcs weren't the only ones with Heroic Spirits. Sometimes, races with less advanced civilizations also produced them. (Spirits couldn't be destroyed. Even if they were dispersed in the physical world, they could be summoned again after some time.)

The other kind of Shaman didn't have this ability: the Elemental Shaman. These Shamans specialized in communing with the elements and focused more on combat. Their healing abilities weren't particularly strong, while their ability to grant beneficial effects was somewhat better. They couldn't cast curses, but they had many direct attack spells. For example, their elemental attacks were much like a Mage's evocation spells, except they were carried out with elemental power. As a result, they only had four types—fire, air, water, and earth—but there was no question about their power. Legends said that some Elemental Shamans could communicate directly with the four elemental deities. If an Elemental Shaman reached legendary status, even the slightest movement could trigger elemental upheaval. Their power was said to shake the earth and churn up violent winds and waves, as if it could destroy the heavens and the earth.

But Shamans did have one disadvantage: there was little they could do to extend their own lives. Warriors and other physical damage dealers who reached legendary status could greatly increase their vitality and extend their lifespans as their life force grew. Mages needed no explanation—a legendary Mage could easily live for over a thousand years. Even Clerics could live to two hundred thanks to their deities, and Druids, who were much like Shamans, often lived for several centuries. Shamans were the unluckiest of all. If they were lucky enough to stumble upon some fortuitous opportunity or take up another profession, they could extend their lives. But if they became Shamans as their sole profession, they'd die right on schedule, with no delay at all. Fortunately, most Shamans in Avalon also trained as Warriors. Otherwise, Granny Karom would have been long gone to join the Seer at her age.

Shamans cast spells quite differently from Mages. Mages used up Spell Slots, while Shamans' methods were closer to those of Clerics. They also learned spells in much the same way as Clerics: they were granted by another being. The difference was that Clerics received their spells from the deities they worshipped, while Shamans received theirs from some unknown being by communing with spirits or elements. No one knew exactly what that being was. So Shamans showed great respect for deities. They could be enemies if need be, but even the weakest deity was generally treated with due respect.

A Shaman's number of spells was tied to their stamina, somewhat like the MP system in games from my previous life. Once it was used up, it was gone; until then, they could cast spells as they pleased. This was much more convenient than a Mage's system, but a Shaman could only cast a few more spells than a Mage of the same level, so the difference wasn't that outrageous.

As for which of the two kinds of Shaman one would become, that was up to fate. It was highly random.

"Can I become a Shaman?" Solam was a little worried. Who knew what it took to become one? It'd be pretty awkward if he couldn't.

"Ram, you don't need to worry about that at all. I checked your aptitude through a ritual a long time ago. You're absolutely capable of becoming an excellent Shaman. Both your Intelligence and Wisdom are outstanding," Granny Karom said confidently.

"What the heck?" Solam looked bewildered. "You can see my Intelligence, too?"

"Mm. Your Wisdom is as high as fifteen points, which is already enough to qualify you as a Shaman. And you're only twelve, so you still have plenty of room to grow."

The moment Granny Karom said that, everyone stared at her, completely dumbfounded. It was obvious that none of them had known. An ordinary person's Wisdom only reached ten points in their entire life, while Solam was already so high at twelve. Who knew what he'd be like in the future? No wonder Granny Karom argued with the old man every day. If the other Shamans learned about Solam's aptitude, they probably wouldn't let such a talented Shaman-in-the-making become a Warrior.

Solam was just as confused. What was going on? Wisdom? What was with this fifteen-point stuff? Why did it feel so familiar?

The old man was astonished, too. He asked curiously, "When did you test him? How come I didn't know?" At that, Granny Karom looked rather pleased with herself. "Last month. When Solam was sleeping at my place, I used Soul-Calming Grass to knock him out and tested him."

Damn, Solam broke out in a cold sweat. So that was why he'd slept so deeply at Granny Karom's place last month and suddenly found it was morning. He'd thought he was just tired. Turns out she'd drugged him.

"Oh, last month..." The old man nodded thoughtfully, but a moment later he jolted in alarm. "Then what are his Strength and Constitution?"

"Um..." Granny Karom looked a little embarrassed. Sneaking a glance at the old man, she said, "His Strength is fourteen points, and his Constitution is also fourteen..." Her voice grew quieter with every word.

"Damn it, I knew it! You already knew his attributes last month. Why didn't you tell me? So this is what you were waiting for, you old hag! What exactly are you up to?" When the old man heard that, he slapped his thigh and sprang to his feet in anger, pointing at the old woman and yelling.

Granny Karom had felt a little guilty at first, but when she saw the old man getting carried away, she thought about how she'd always had the upper hand all these years, berating him until he couldn't get a word in. Since when had this old geezer been allowed to turn the tables? She immediately raised her head and fired back. "It's not too late to tell you now. Ram can only follow me and become a Shaman anyway." Her expression said, I deliberately kept it from you. What are you going to do about it?

Seeing Granny Karom's attitude, the old man nearly choked with anger. But the old woman was right; there was no point in arguing about it now. Still, that old hag was infuriating.

Everyone else was even more dumbfounded by this than they'd been when they learned about Solam's Wisdom.

"Granny Karom, are you sure you didn't make a mistake? Ram's Strength and Constitution are really that high?" Uncle Karut looked at Granny Karom, full of doubt. The others looked the same.

"I may be an old woman, but I've lived long enough to know what I'm doing. Why would I lie to you?" Granny Karom shot him a sidelong glance.

"But, but Ram... he..." Uncle Karut didn't know what to say.

"You only see how skinny he is. You don't see his true strength. You're all blind." The old woman looked as if she alone were clear-headed while everyone else was drunk. She'd completely forgotten that she was the one who'd thought Solam looked so frail he needed supplements. The others wore expressions that said, Nice dodge.

While the others talked in amazement, Solam was utterly confused. Strength, Wisdom, Constitution—what did any of that mean? The more he listened, the more bizarre it sounded. Damn, they even had point values. Why was this starting to feel more and more like a game?

"Wait, can someone tell me what this stuff about Strength and Constitution actually means?"

Granny Karom heard Solam's question and explained it to him.

It turned out that a long, long time ago, a group of Mages had devised a system of attributes to improve their power more effectively and distinguish between levels of strength. But in the end, they failed, because individuals varied so much that people with the same attribute scores could be very different.

For example, an ogre could have eighteen points of Strength, and a human could have eighteen points of Strength, too. But if the two competed in pure strength, the human would be no match at all. As another example, an ogre with ten points of Agility could be toyed with by a human with the same Agility, unable to land a single hit. The differences between individuals had shattered those Mages' ambition to measure all things in heaven and earth using attributes.

But later generations discovered that although attributes couldn't directly show a person's actual strength, they could still serve as an objective reference. Once people realized their usefulness, they found the system wasn't entirely useless, so it was widely adopted. They even devised a spell called Observe Attributes, which let people check their own attributes or those of others.

This had originally been a privilege reserved for spellcasters, but other professions later learned it and adapted it into skills they could also use. However, these methods weren't as convenient as casting a spell. Warriors, for instance, could only see their own attributes by meditating; they couldn't check anyone else's. Experienced adventurers out in the world could usually estimate another person's attributes by observation, but the accuracy was much lower.

There were six attributes: Strength, Intelligence, Constitution, Wisdom, Agility, and Wisdom. Strength represented the power of a person's muscles and how much force they could exert. High Strength could give someone an advantage in battle.

Intelligence represented a person's ability to learn and think. It was most important for spellcasters, affecting the power of the spells they could cast and how quickly they learned them. Although Shamans didn't need to learn specific spells, Intelligence still determined their stamina and how quickly it recovered—in other words, the number of spells they could cast. So if you were an idiot, you were better off not learning spells. For example, many beasts had high Wisdom, but still couldn't become Shamans. Spell-like abilities didn't count.

Agility represented a person's hand-eye coordination, physical nimbleness, reflexes, and balance.

Constitution represented a person's health and endurance, and it also affected their life force, so it was important for everyone. Constitution also affected how Strength developed and was applied. If someone had high Strength but the Constitution of a weakling, their all-out attack might not hurt anyone, but they could still strain a muscle from overexertion. That was why few physical damage dealers had low Constitution.

Wisdom referred to perception or something like a sixth sense. This attribute represented a person's ability to sense their surroundings. How could it be described? For example, people with high Wisdom could easily sense whether others felt goodwill or hostility toward them. It was an attribute that was difficult to explain in words.

As for the last attribute, Charisma was definitely about more than just having a pretty face. It mainly referred to the ability to influence others through one's will. Although good looks could make it easier to persuade others to yield to your opinions, plenty of people who weren't particularly attractive still had high Charisma. And plenty of people who looked good easily ended up as little more than pretty ornaments.