7. Level up

Alistair had nothing to compare leveling to. The surge moved through him in a clean, spreading rush, starting from the place where his class resided and carrying outward through bone, muscle, breath, and thought. It was neither painful nor pleasurable, more like being made into more than he had been. He could not have explained how.

He steadied himself against the wall and opened his Guide in a hush of excitement. The letters formed themselves before his eyes.

His body looked as miserable as before, but WIS had risen from four to six.

Below that, another line appeared.

Alistair stared for a few breaths.

Even after everything that had happened since the Hall, this still felt absurd. He had been told some things about classes before the Company took him. A level was accumulated experience made into real improvement, not just a number on the Guide.

Most classes, from what little he remembered, followed simple rules. A common one would improve one base stat when it leveled and grant one extra free point for the person to place where they wished. Better classes either offered one base point in two separate stats or gave more flexibility through two free points. But Clonemancer had once again broken his common sense by granting two base increases in WIS and three free points, far beyond anything he had heard described as possible.

Even though he already knew the wording by heart, Alistair opened the description of Clone again and read it line by line. It said only that the number of clones he could manifest at the same time depended on WIS. Nothing more. Testing would have to teach him the rest.

He called on the skill. The first clone formed faster than before, the strain settling over his mind in a lighter way. Control came easier too. He could feel the clone from the higher layer of awareness with less effort, as though the distance between thought and action had shortened.

Then he tried to force the limit. Some instinct in him resisted the second summon, not from fear exactly, but from the sense that he was pressing into unknown ground. He ignored it and pushed harder. A moment later, a third body stepped into existence.

The effect hit at once. His balance of thought wavered, and for a few seconds the three bodies sat badly together in his mind. But Alistair pulled himself back into that more abstract state instead of trying to control each movement directly, and the confusion eased. Only then did he let himself feel the satisfaction of it. Three bodies existed at once.

After two more attempts, the process became steadier, and another change revealed itself as well. Each clone now lasted almost five minutes before dissolving. The improvement was absurd. Holding only one clone did not extend the duration, but it did reduce the strain considerably. Two clones, then, was possible, though not comfortably. He dismissed them and returned his attention to the Guide.

The temptation was immediate. A point in STR would make his life easier. So would VIT. So would almost anything physical. His body was still too weak, and weakness had been a constant for years.

But he forced himself not to decide immediately.

Alistair remembered a few things about natural stat caps and training. If he was not mistaken, their natural growth was limited to five points. Aside from leveling, stats could be improved through work, exercise, or proper living, though not equally. Raising a low value was easier than pushing an already high one, and age helped too.

That made the choice more complicated than simply choosing what he needed most.

VIT might improve on its own once he started eating properly and sleeping like a human being instead of a chained animal. The improvement would not be large, but perhaps it could still become one point. STR would certainly rise if he trained it. STA and END should too, even if at a slower pace.

DEX and PER sat in the middle. They could likely gain a point with specific work if he ever had the time.

WIS presented a different problem.

At six, it was already past the cap. INT was not impossible, but trying to force the mind itself to grow through study alone sounded like the kind of task that took years. He did not have years to spend chasing one point.

That meant the free points should probably go where training would help least: WIS and INT.

The conclusion came easily. Choosing the balance was harder.

Alistair frowned at the Guide and tried something first. If the Guide forced him to assign all three points at once, then there would be no testing. But if it allowed him to use them one by one, that would give him more room.

He focused on INT, increasing it by one through a mental command.

His head felt no different at first. He waited, but nothing changed. Perhaps it could help him use the clone skill.

He summoned two clones.

The alley behind him blurred for a moment as the bodies stepped out into existence. He sent one to sort the tools and the other to pick through the sacks and gloves. Simple tasks. At first, he noticed nothing beyond the usual strain.

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Then he used them for something slightly more complicated. One clone tied the mouth cloth properly around its face while the other used the short shovel to scrape clotted filth off the hook without damaging it.

The difference became obvious almost immediately.

INT made him faster in the mind rather than the body. He could shift focus more easily. Noticing the small movements of two bodies felt smoother. Reactions came faster. The strain of holding both bodies did not vanish, but it loosened.

Alistair dismissed one clone and tested again. The effect grew even more pronounced. So WIS increased his reach, while INT improved his mastery.

The simplest explanation was clear. WIS gave him more hands; INT made those hands better.

He looked back to the Guide.

If so, higher INT would become essential as his number of active clones grew. Otherwise he would reach a point where he had bodies he could not manage properly. On the other hand, WIS still seemed more important. Clones would not always need precision. He could assign them work in a duller mode with only light guidance, reducing the strain.

He began estimating.

At WIS 6, two active clones were taxing, but manageable. With INT now at 4, perhaps he could increase WIS to 8 and manage three clones.

For a moment, he hesitated.

The wiser choice might have been one more point in INT and only one in WIS. That would not gain him an extra body, but it would make the ones he already had much easier to control.

He knew that. And still, some younger, greedier part of him refused to let go of the chance.

A third clone meant more work, more possibilities, and more experience. For now, that was more important than steady growth.

He placed the remaining two points into WIS. The numbers settled. WIS 8. INT 4.

Personal Guide
Class	Clonemancer	Level	2
VIT	2	DEX	3
STR	1	PER	3
STA	2	WIS	8 Continue Reading You are reading a free preview (50%). Log in to unlock the full chapter and join comments. Log In to UnlockCreate Account Related chapter tags #clonemancy:ascensionthroughathousandclones[litrpgmultiplebodiesprogressionfantasy]chapter7#clonemancy:ascensionthroughathousandclones[litrpgmultiplebodiesprogressionfantasy]chapter8#clonemancy:ascensionthroughathousandclones[litrpgmultiplebodiesprogressionfantasy]chapter9#clonemancy:ascensionthroughathousandclones[litrpgmultiplebodiesprogressionfantasy]latestchapter#clonemancy:ascensionthroughathousandclones[litrpgmultiplebodiesprogressionfantasy]readonline 0 chapter views Related Novels When the Sirens Count Down Immortal Druid Vows Beneath Black Water The Legend of William Oh (Book 2 Stubbing May 10th) 0 Comments You must be logged in to comment. Bookmark Quote TTS Link Play Pause Stop Skip Scroll Settings Note DMCATermsPrivacyContact 0 online