Richter thought about what he had just learned. If he had a 50% resistance to Fire magic, he still wouldn’t think it would be a good idea to stick his hand into a furnace. From how Alma was explaining it, that would be an example of indirect damage. Someone hitting him with a Fire spell or enchantment would be an example of direct damage. What she said made sense, but that didn’t mean he liked hearing it. It meant that his resistances were not as powerful as he had thought. As with all things in The Land, it seemed like resistance came with its own checks and balances. Still, better to know that to not, he reasoned.
Richter opened his hand again and turned his attention back to the gem. When he brought it closer to his face, the light got brighter. Alma cooed. The rotation occurring inside the jewel also seemed to speed up a bit. Excited, he brought it all the way up to his face, but the glow went back to its previous level of shine and movement. Frowning slightly, he lowered his hand again. The light grew brighter.
Thinking he understood, he moved the gem closer to Alma and the light continued to grow more intense and the rotation more agitated until it looked like a mini disco ball. The dragonling, for her part, kept her eyes glued to the gem. Richter stopped just short of touching her with the psi-crystal.
*Pick it up, my love,* he thought to her.
Not needing to be told twice, she grabbed it with her small arms and held it to her chest. She half closed her eyes and crooned softly, clearly enjoying the presence of the psi crystal.
*Can you access the power inside of it?* he asked.
Alma opened her eyes. After a moment, she thought, *I think so, master. I think I could use it increase the strength of my Psi Blast or Brain Drain. Would you like me to try?* She sounded more than eager.
Remembering the prompt saying that augmenting her psychic abilities would use up the energy in one go, he quickly told her no and took the crystal back. He looked at it for a moment longer, then pressed it against her skin. A prompt appeared.
You have brought your Psi Crystal in contact with a Mental creature. Would you like to expend the energy to enhance your soul familiar? Yes or No?
He selected “Yes” and the light in the crystal stopped rotating. It focused into a beam that shone right on Alma’s face. Her jaws opened wide, and the beam narrowed into three distinct rays that led into her eyes and mouth. She drew a breath in, and the blue-white luminescence flowed out of the crystal and into her body in one large pulse. The crystal remained inert in his hand and Alma started to purr in pleasure. Another prompt appeared, and a feeling of satisfaction grew inside him.
Know This! Pure psychic energy can enhance the characteristics of your Psi Dragonling. Each level of your Psi Crystal equates to 1 Psi Points. Current Psi Points available: 34. Any unused Psi Points will be lost after 24 hours. At her current evolution, Alma has the following advancements available.
Name of Enhancement
Traits
Cost
Natural Armor I
Current Armor: 3
Increase the natural armor of your dragonling by +1
10
Natural Attack I
Current Attack: 5
Increase the melee attack of your dragonling by +1
10
Flight Speed I
Increase Flight Speed by 10%
10
Convert to Ability Points
Allows the Purchase of 1 Ability Point
10
Chameleon I
Your dragonling’s body will change color by 10% to match the surrounding environment
20
Convert to Characteristic Points
(Size, Race, etc adjustments still apply)
Str 5, Agi 33, Dex 34, Con 13, End 18, Int 73, Wis 73, Chr 18, Luc 18
Allows Purchase of one Characteristic Point that will be added to base value
10
Darkvision I
Gives Darkvision with a radius of 50 yards
10
Weak Psi Poison
Your dragonling’s teeth and claw now exude a psi poison. This does minimal damage, but makes concentrating more difficult. While the poison is active, the target is also more susceptible to psychic attacks.
10
Despite the stress of the recent attack, Richter couldn’t keep a smile from creeping onto his face. He could upgrade his familiar now!
*Do you see this, love,* he asked her.
She kept crooning in pleasure with her eyes half-lidded, but still answered, *Yes, master.*
*This might change everything,* he thought to her excitedly. *I don’t want to just make these decisions for you, though. Do you want to invest your own points?*
She didn’t respond, but instead just continued to lay on his arms, purring slightly. Shaking his head at her, he tapped one finger on top of her scaled head. Alma cracked one eye and looked at him, *You are my master. I trust you. In the future, if I want to allocate my points, I will. Thank you for allowing that. You are a wonderful master. Right now, what I truly want is for you to stop bothering me, though.* With that, she closed her eye and started purring again.
Did she just-? Did that just happen? Part of him wanted to treat her like a shake weight, but ultimately, he chuckled at her sassiness. She truly was his soul familiar. He turned his attention back to the options.
Weak Psi Poison seemed awesome. It basically would start her down the path of being a mage killer. If the effects got stronger as he leveled the enhancement, it should be hard for any caster to be effective once the poison got into their system. Even a moment of lost concentration could cause a spell to miscast. It might even backfire. As much as he loved his own magic, he hated it when enemies pointed magic at him.
Yeah, the poison was tempting, but it also meant she had to get within striking distance of dangerous enemies. Her little body somehow had one hundred and thirty health points jammed within it, but that could be gone in an instant if she was hit with a nasty spell. Darkvision, on the other hand, might give her a decided advantage in battle. He could always cast that spell on her himself, though, and she could summon mist lights at will.
Chameleon definitely seemed cool. Her smoky grey body was already great for hiding at night and in shadow but was easily seen during the day. Also, her ability to hide was based on conventional eyesight. As Darkvision proved, there were varied methods that creatures used to detect others in The Land. Her dark scales would be next to useless as camouflage against a kobold. If she could truly blend into her surroundings, it would greatly increase her ability to do recon and strike from concealment. That was probably why it cost twice as much to buy that enhancement. He realized that, awesome or not, Chameleon would have to wait.