12. The Hustle

One week later, Alistair had earned two things he had chased relentlessly: another point in VIT and another level.

When he opened his Guide, the numbers looked almost unreal.

He stared at the numbers longer than he needed to. One of those points already had a destination. INT had to rise. Whatever rule linked it to WIS and clone control had become too obvious to ignore, and letting it fall behind now would only cripple the class. What use was the ability to summon four clones if he could only control three? That decision was simple.

The other two points were harder. He still wanted to improve VIT, STR, STA, and END naturally if he could. That had been his original plan, and giving up on it too early left a bitter taste in his mouth. At the same time, reality had become harder to ignore. Raising STR from its miserable starting point had already demanded too much work for too little return. Trying to do the same for DEX and PER, both already at three, might take far longer than he could afford. He did not have a true foundation. He was trying to build one after everything important should already have been there.

The thought unsettled him. Part of him refused to surrender just because something was difficult. Another part wanted results, and quickly. The clones had already begun teaching him lessons beyond anything written in their skill description. One of those lessons was how to shift focus, hold what mattered, and let go of the rest.

Eventually, he found his answer. He would keep training VIT, STR, STA, and END through work and effort. Meanwhile, he would use free points on the other stats when spending them on WIS or INT no longer made immediate sense. The plan was imperfect but workable, and deciding at all brought an immediate sense of relief. Trying to train nearly everything at once had been too large a burden. Training everything at once would take years. Perhaps of a whole life. He still considered, briefly, pouring everything into WIS and INT alone, since those were clearly the core stats for Clonemancer. But his clones were too varied for that. The moment he began leaning harder on combat classes, the lower physical and sensory stats would become vital.

In the end, he spent one point on INT and the last two on DEX and PER.

The assigned points took effect immediately. INT and WIS had altered him before, but those increases had worked in subtler ways. Understanding deepened. Thoughts linked faster. He noticed patterns more often and held onto them longer. He had already begun to suspect that high WIS did more than improve judgment. It seemed to change the frequency of thinking, nudging him toward consideration, toward careful choice, toward conclusions that felt less like impulse and more like resolve. Since gaining freedom, a reckless eagerness had surfaced in him whenever he saw an opportunity. That had not vanished, but it was slowly being reshaped into something steadier.

DEX and PER changed him more plainly. Their increase was immediate enough to be almost jarring. His sight sharpened. Sounds came through a little more clearly. Smells separated instead of blurring together into a single impression. None of it was dramatic enough to feel unnatural, but every part of the world suddenly seemed a little better defined.

Of course, after assigning the points, he tested Clone.

The improvement showed from the first summon. The first clone came almost effortlessly, with barely any delay or strain at all. The second required a little more attention, but still nothing troubling. The third forced him to push harder and brought back the familiar pressure in his head, though by now that amount of strain had become normal enough to be manageable. The fourth demanded complete concentration, as though he were arranging something delicate that would tear if mishandled. Even so, it worked.