Chapter Thirty-Four: Character Card

“You are now a Level 1 Mage,” Antinoia said, gazing at Zhao Xu.

Zhao Xu had been bracing himself for disappointment, thinking today’s ceremony had failed, but then came this unexpected turn. Had he really succeeded?

The tension he had carried for days finally eased, if only slightly. His plans were proceeding as he had hoped.

Suppressing the excitement within him, Zhao Xu looked to Antinoia, awaiting her next instructions.

“Now you can focus your attention, and your character card will appear in your mind.”

Truth be told, Zhao Xu didn’t need Antinoia to elaborate. He already understood. The reason Arthur’s world was said to be quantifiable was that, once someone successfully advanced to a Level 1 basic class, they could see their own character card.

It was as if every professional in this world possessed a silent, unyielding system of numbers—no golden fingers, just stats. In this world, everyone had a system, everyone was a dragon.

This was also why, as players, their stats were compatible even after crossing over a year later.

Here, everyone was born as a Level 1 commoner, and commoners could not see their own character card. The special trait of players was that they could see their card before reaching Level 1, and freely allocate their attributes.

Antinoia then began to explain some fundamental knowledge about character cards.

Despite having studied these mechanics for nearly a decade in his previous life, Zhao Xu listened humbly, following his mentor’s guidance.

“After your advancement, you should be able to see your hit points.”

Zhao Xu glanced at his character card in his mind.

[Hit Points: Current 6/6 hp
Base Hit Points 6 = 4 (Class) + 2 (Constitution)
Hit Dice Type: D4 Mage]

He now had 6 hit points, 2 from his Constitution modifier, and 4 from his Mage hit dice.

At Level 1, professionals automatically receive the maximum value from their hit dice—no random rolls.

Later, when leveling up, only the result of a D4 roll is added, which means a random number between 1 and 4; a D12 would be between 1 and 12.

The Constitution modifier is added with each level, which was why Zhao Xu spent 6 points to increase his attribute to 14. If a player didn’t invest, starting with an 8 attribute, their modifier would be -1, and their hit points would be reduced by 1.

Compared to other classes with D12, D10, or D8 hit dice, Mages and Warlocks with D4 dice naturally had fewer hit points at Level 1. This was why mages were so fragile, so easily felled by a stray arrow in the early stages.

Antinoia’s tone became more serious as she continued.

“Zhongxia, in your understanding, what are hit points?”

“Health?” Zhao Xu’s first reaction, as an Earth player, was this concept. Only after he spoke did he realize his answer was a little foolish.

Antinoia did not press him, only shook her head gently. “Hit points are not a measure of how strong our vitality is. If you die and are turned into a skeleton, your hit points are calculated as a skeleton’s, no matter if you were once a legendary warrior.”

“Remember this—hit points represent our ability to withstand damage.”

“A fireball can wipe out a group of commoners, but a high-level warrior can take the blow because he has enough hit points to absorb the damage.”

“Also, true death isn’t when hit points reach zero, but when they reach minus ten. Between zero and minus ten, you are incapacitated, relying on your companions’ rescue.”

Listening to Antinoia’s explanation, Zhao Xu nodded in agreement.

Seeing Zhao Xu comprehend, she continued to explain saving throws.

Zhao Xu looked again at his panel; saving throws appeared only after he became a mage.

Fortitude: 2 = 0 (Class) + 2 (Constitution)
Reflex: 1 = 0 (Class) + 1 (Dexterity)
Will: 4 = 2 (Class) + 2 (Wisdom)

Fortitude measures resistance to poisons and tests of physical endurance.

Reflex measures the ability to dodge special attacks—such as resisting a fireball with a reflex save.

Will measures resistance to mental challenges—such as spells like charm person.

As a Level 1 Mage, Zhao Xu only received a 2-point class bonus to Will.

Normally, once these three values are high enough, one can resist most harmful effects.

Whenever a saving throw is required, Arthur’s system will assign a difficulty rating; these three saving throws add a roll between 1 and 20 to contend with the difficulty. If the result exceeds the difficulty, the save is successful. Thus, if your saving throw exceeds the difficulty, you will almost never fail.

“I’ll explain these two concepts first. Next, let’s discuss feats,” Antinoia said at last.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu’s attention sharpened. The earlier information was important, but he already knew it.

“First, what are feats?”

Zhao Xu’s pupils contracted. “Character abilities.”

“Strictly speaking, they are abilities tied to each person’s spirit.”

“In practice, you gain a feat through training, but this consumes your spiritual energy. Everyone’s spirit is fixed; it can be gained through leveling up—at Level 1 and every multiple of three thereafter.”

“As humans, we naturally receive an extra spiritual bonus, which corresponds to one additional feat.”

Hearing this, Zhao Xu finally understood. In his previous life, they used feats as they gained them, but the origins and mechanics behind feats—why only leveling up granted them—had always been half-understood, with forums offering countless explanations.

“If you learn the ‘Scribe Scroll’ feat at the start, then later awaken ‘Insightful Spellcasting’ and become a spellcaster, ‘Scribe Scroll’ will occupy your Level 1 feat slot.”

“Teacher, didn’t you say it would be forgotten?” Zhao Xu suddenly recalled Antinoia’s previous explanation.

“I finally believe you don’t have sixteen points of Intelligence. The prerequisite for ‘Scribe Scroll’ is being a Level 1 spellcaster. As for forgetting it, that only happens if you never become a mage.”

At Antinoia’s gentle teasing, Zhao Xu blushed.

“How many feats have you yet to assign?” Antinoia asked.

Zhao Xu didn’t even need to check his card; he answered proudly, “Four.”

“Oh? You’ve received extra spiritual bonuses?” Antinoia’s prophecy spells could see Zhao Xu’s current abilities, but not those he had yet to select.

“I have two flaws, so I can choose two more feats,” Zhao Xu replied.

He had once thought it strange to exchange flaws for feats, but now that he understood spiritual energy corresponded to feats, it made much more sense.

“Lucky boy. Many in Arthur have flaws, but not all receive spiritual compensation.”

“In any case, this makes things easier. You have four feats, so tell me, do you want to cast spells freely—without the daily preparation limits?”

At these words, Zhao Xu’s heart raced. Was that possible? Free spellcasting—he wouldn’t need to prepare scrolls anymore.

That would make him not just a mage, but a god among mages.