Attributes

Heroic Spirits are spiritual entities formed after the long-term worship of deceased heroes, resembling messengers from other planes. No one knows exactly where they exist, and only a Spirit Shaman can summon them into reality. Generally, Heroic Spirits possess legendary strength. However, they are not exclusive to orcs; sometimes, they appear among less civilized races as well. (Spiritual entities cannot be destroyed; if dispersed in reality, they will be summoned again after a period of time.)

The other type of shaman lacks this ability: the Elemental Shaman. This is a shaman specialized in communicating with the elements. Such shamans focus more on combat; their healing capabilities are not outstanding, their ability to buff is moderate, and they possess no cursing abilities. However, they have many direct attack spells, such as various elemental strikes that resemble the evocation spells of mages. Since these abilities are realized through elemental power, there are only four types: fire, air, water, and earth, but their power is undeniable. Legend has it that some Elemental Shamans can communicate directly with the four great elemental spirits. If an Elemental Shaman reaches the legendary realm, their every gesture can trigger elemental tremors; such power is said to be capable of shaking the earth, stirring up storms and tidal waves, and possessing the potential to destroy the world.

However, the downside of being a shaman is that there is no way to increase one's lifespan. It is worth noting that physical classes like warriors can significantly increase their vitality and extend their lifespans upon reaching the legendary realm due to the elevation of their life essence. Mages need not even be mentioned; a legendary mage can easily live for over a thousand years. Even clerics, due to their deities, find it easy to live to 200, and druids, who are very similar to shamans, often live for several centuries. Only shamans have it the hardest. If they are lucky enough to encounter some fortuitous event or multiclass, they might extend their lives, but if they remain solely as shamans, they will kick the bucket exactly when their time is up, without a moment's delay. Fortunately, in Avalon, most shamans multiclass as warriors; otherwise, someone of Granny Karom's age would have already gone to meet the ancestors.

A shaman's method of spellcasting is very different from that of a mage. Mages consume spell slots, whereas a shaman's method is closer to that of a cleric. The way they learn spells is also similar to clerics, as they are bestowed by other existences. The difference is that clerics receive them from the deities they worship, while shamans receive them from unknown entities through communication with spirits or elements; no one knows exactly what these entities are. Therefore, shamans are very respectful toward deities—unless they are enemies—otherwise, even the weakest god is generally given sufficient respect.

A shaman's number of spells is tied to their stamina, somewhat similar to the MP setting in games from a past life; once it's used up, it's gone, but until then, one can cast spells at will. This is much more refreshing than being a mage, though a shaman of the same level cannot cast many more spells than a mage of the same level, so it isn't too exaggerated.

As for which of these two types of shamans one eventually becomes, it depends on fate; it is highly randomized.

"Can I become a shaman?" Solam asked, a bit worried. Heaven knows what the requirements are to become a shaman. If he couldn't become one, it would be quite embarrassing.

"You don't need to worry about that at all, Ram. I checked your aptitude through a ritual a long time ago. You will definitely become an excellent shaman; your intelligence and perception are both outstanding," Granny Karom said confidently.

"What the heck?" Solam was full of question marks. "You can even see my intelligence?"

"Yes, your perception is as high as 15 points, which is enough to qualify as a shaman. Not to mention you're only 12, so you still have plenty of room to grow."

As soon as Granny Karom's words left her mouth, everyone looked at her, completely stunned; it was clear they hadn't known this before. One must know that the perception of an ordinary person is only 10 points in their entire life. Solam was only 12 and already this high—what would he be like in the future? No wonder Granny Karom argued with the old man every day. If other shamans knew of Solam's aptitude, they probably wouldn't let such a genius shaman seedling go off to be a warrior.

Solam was also bewildered. What was going on? Perception, 15 points—what the hell was that? Why did it feel so strangely familiar?

The old man was also astonished and asked curiously, "When did you test him? How come I didn't know?" Hearing this, Granny Karom said triumphantly, "Last month, when Solam was sleeping at my place, I knocked him out with Soul-Calming Grass and tested him."

Damn it, Solam thought, breaking into a cold sweat. I was wondering why I slept so soundly at Granny Karom's house last month and why it was morning in the blink of an eye. I thought I was just tired, but it turns out I was drugged.

"Oh, last month..." The old man nodded thoughtfully, but soon woke up and shouted, "Then what are his strength and constitution?"

"Uh..." Granny Karom looked a bit embarrassed, stole a glance at the old man, and said, "His strength is also 14 points, and his constitution is 14 points..." Her voice grew quieter as she spoke.

"Damn it! I knew it! You knew his attributes last month, so why didn't you tell me? You were just waiting to spring this on me, you old hag! What are your intentions?" The old man slapped his thigh in anger, stood up, and pointed at the old woman, cursing.

Granny Karom had been feeling a bit guilty, but when she saw the old man getting cocky, she snapped. After all these years, she had always been the one in charge, scolding the old man until he didn't dare say a word. When was it this stinky old man's turn to take control? She immediately raised her head to counterattack. "It's not too late to say it now. Anyway, Ram can only follow me to become a shaman now." She wore an expression that said, I did it on purpose, what are you going to do about it?

When the old man saw Granny Karom's attitude, he almost choked, but the old woman was right; there was no point in arguing now. Still, this old woman was truly infuriating.

The others were even more stunned than when they first heard about Solam's perception.

"Granny Karom, are you sure you didn't make a mistake? Does Ram really have such high strength and constitution?" Uncle Karut looked at Granny Karom with doubt, and the others felt the same.

"I'm old enough to know better; do you think I'd lie to you?" Granny Karom glared at him.

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

"You only saw that he was thin; you didn't see his true strength. That's because you are blind." The old woman acted as if everyone else was drunk while she alone was sober, completely forgetting who was the one most concerned about Solam being thin and needing extra nourishment. The others also wore expressions that said, That was a smooth deflection.

While they were talking in astonishment, Solam was completely confused. Strength, perception, constitution—why did it sound more and more mysterious? Damn it, with points and numbers, how was this becoming more and more like a game?

"Wait, can someone tell me what this strength, constitution, and stuff actually is?"

Hearing Solam's question, Granny Karom explained it to him.

It turned out that a long, long time ago, a group of mages designed this attribute system to better improve their power and distinguish between the strong and the weak. However, it ultimately failed because the differences between individuals led to great variations within the same attribute.

For example, an ogre might have 18 strength, and a human might also have 18 strength, but if the two were to compete purely in strength, you would find that the human was no match at all. To give another example, if an ogre with 10 agility were to face a human with 10 agility, the ogre would be run circles around by the human and wouldn't be able to hit them at all. Because of these individual differences, the ambition of those mages to measure the world with attributes was shattered.

However, later generations discovered that while attributes could not intuitively represent a person's specific strength, they could serve as an objective reference. Once this utility was discovered, it was found that the system wasn't entirely useless, so it was promoted. They even designed a spell called Observe Attributes, which allowed others or oneself to observe their own or someone else's attributes.

Originally, this was an exclusive benefit for spellcasters, but later it was learned by other professions and modified into various skills that other classes could use. However, it wasn't as convenient as spellcasting; for example, warriors could only rely on meditation to see their own attributes, but seeing others' was out of the question. Generally, experienced adventurers in the field could estimate someone's attributes through observation, though the accuracy was greatly reduced.

Attributes are divided into six categories: Strength, Intelligence, Constitution, Perception, Agility, and Charisma. Strength represents a person's muscle intensity and physical power; high strength can give you an advantage in combat.

Intelligence represents a person's learning and thinking ability. This attribute is most important for spellcasters, as it affects the strength of spells that can be cast and the speed of learning spells. Although shamans do not need to learn specific spells, intelligence still determines a shaman's stamina and the speed at which it recovers—in short, the number of spells. So, for a fool, it is better not to learn spells. For instance, many beasts have high perception, but they still cannot become shamans (spell-like abilities are not included).

Agility represents a person's hand-eye coordination, physical flexibility, reaction, and balance.

Constitution represents a person's health and endurance, and it affects vitality. Therefore, constitution is very important for everyone. Furthermore, constitution affects the growth and exertion of strength; if your strength is high but your constitution is weak, your full-force strike might not hurt anyone, and you might even pull a muscle from overexertion. That is why very few physical combat classes have low constitution.

Perception refers to insight or a sixth sense. This attribute represents the ability to perceive surrounding things. How to describe it? For example, a person with high perception can easily sense the goodwill or malice of others—it is an attribute that is hard to explain in words.

As for the final item, Charisma, it is definitely not just about having a pretty face. This attribute mainly refers to the ability to influence others with one's own will. Although having a good appearance can make others more likely to yield to your opinions, many people with average looks have high charisma, while conversely, many people who are good-looking easily end up as mere eye candy.