Lazlo sat at the library, studying. He had homework: improve a stat or skill by tommorow. He had, for some reason, selected Int as his stat of choice. So he had hit the books.
The Department had a well stocked library, thankfully: he wasn't allowed in most of it, but the parts he could access were still informative. For example, did you know that tooth fairies weren't actually fairies? They were witches that stole teeth to use in their rituals. Usually harmless, but when they went bad, they had a tendency to create Teethlings.
(Witches, in this context, describing practitioners of thaumcraft specializing in sacrifice and sympathetic magics who operated in a coven. Or, as the book so helpfully described: cells.)
The bad news was, he was having no luck improving any of his skills or stats at all. Glancing at the clock, Lazlo grimly noted that it was about four in the morning. Taking a sip of coffee (the building had a LOT of coffee machines), he turned the page.
Scratching at the yellow wristband on his arm, Lazlo felt his mind drift, and forced it back into focus, sipping more coffee to banish the feeling. However, he had to admit, he was running on fumes: he hadn't slept last night OR the night before.
Distantly, he hoped that the homework was optional, because otherwise he was probably going to fail. Still, he needed to at least try. Maybe next time I'll focus on a lower stat like endurance or...whatever SPRT is. Spirit? I'unno.
Closing his book, he moved on to his next topic, one a bit more mundane: geology. Hey, you never knew what would be useful, right?
Rubbing his eyes, Lazlo yawned, only to recieve an electric jolt and a headache.
Through staying up longer than 24 hours, you've unlocked the All-Nighter Perk! +10% to Fatigue Resistance, Coffee has increased effects!
The Research Skill has reached rank 2!
Seething, Lazlo waited until the messages faded away. Why couldn't the Parameters, like, use some kind of video game screen or something? Messages popping up in his brain didn't sound bad on the surface, but it always without exception hurt like hell when it occured spontaneously (when he brought up his Parameters, it was different).
He had his theories about that, of course: maybe it was his physiology modifying itself automatically. Maybe the human neurological system wasn't optimized to deal with the parameters. Maybe he had a condition.
Still, a useful improvement. He had passed the lecturers....test? Task? Regardless, he needed to keep this up if he wanted to avoid being a one-monther, even if he doubted he'd be flunked. He had seen what happened to people when they fucked up or got unlucky at this job, and he didn't want to join them: ergo he needed to excell as much as possible.
Plus, he was feeling better now: in theory, 10% didn't sound like a lot. In practice, it elevated his condition from "tired and miserable" to "just tired", meaning he could push himself a bit further.
Standing up, Lazlo put the books back. Right. That was done for now: maybe he'd go do some physical exercise for a bit. While he was at it, he brought up his parameters. His FULL parameters.
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Lazlo Montgomery
LV 2
STR: 2
END: 1
INT: 3
CHA: 2
SPRT: 1
SPD: 2
Skills:
Disguise 1
Research 2
Lore 1
Cooking 3
Focus 1(+1)
Chemistry 1
Perks:
All-Nighter Rank 1: +10% to Fatigue Resistance, Coffee gives bonus effects
Survivor Rank 1: -5% to Terror effects, Focus receives +1 Bonus
Touched by Nightmares Rank 1: Will always suffer nightmares when you dream. INT is increased by 1 at base.
Well. It was getting easier to bring up his Parameters, at least. Lazlo shuddered at the last two "perks". Survivor was...handy, at least. From what he understood, Focus was a harder skill to improve, so the bonus was nice, and the fact it wasn't a base increase meant he could still raise it further eventually.
Touched by Nightmares...
Lazlo sighed. It hadn't been his choice. Not at all. And it was probably the chief reason he had stayed up this late, honestly: he didn't want to wake his room-mate up by screaming.
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"To those of you who managed to pass my little test, congratulations. You've no doubt realized how painful it is to improve a stat or skill, but hopefully you improved in a way that will be useful to your chosen career goal." The lecturer stared them down, and most people looked uncomfortable.
"I wager only a few of you managed to improve this way." She said, voice level. "Don't worry: this method takes time and elbow grease, but its universally effective up to a certain point. If you keep working, within a few years you should have a smattering of skills at rank five at least."
"Um. Isn't that a little...low?"
"Brandon Marshal. Your concern is duly noted. However..." She pushed her glasses up as she stepped forward. "How many of your skills are at five NOW?"
Silence. "That's what I thought. You see, traditionally, the edges of human capability, unaugmented by magic, lie around five or so. Five is the very edge of potential: in simpler terms, the number of traditional prodiges."
She paused. "However, that ISN'T a hard and fast rule, I should note. For example, I've seen some skills where the edge of mundane ability was around six, seven, or in one case, ten: that skill is Fast Talk, for reference," she explained. "Further, as I've mentioned, through magic and other means, its possible to simulate higher scores. Those of you who have signed up for the Thaumcraft class, you'll find one of the first skills they'll teach you is a spell designed to improve your ability at knitting, for instance."
A hand rose up. "Triffany Golding. 45. Again, you don't have to raise your hand."
The speaker, a middle aged lady at the edge of her midlife spoke, with a crackly, smokey voice, the voice of someone who enjoyed cigarettes a little too much. "Yesterday, you mentioned other ways to improve ourself. Can that help us go higher than five?"
The lecturer grinned. "And now you see why S-Types are so valuable. Yes, through various means such as Achievements, Tasks, and other things, it is possible to get higher than the human limit. Though," she said, voice taking a note of warning, "I must advise some caution: you're not gods. I've seen men and women with skills and stats well above the limit be TORN apart. At the end of the day, S-Types are still mortal, and still a tiny fish in a large pond. They just have a few more tools."
The class murmured a bit at that, and a familiar voice scoffed. Bucky again. This time the lecturer simply rolled her eyes, and continued on, ignoring them. "The various threats and anomalies are classified by the Type system, which groups threats by common origin and, by extension, most common weaknesses: for example, D-Types correspond to threats of an infernal nature. Hell-spirits, demons, devil-contractors, spirifers, and so on. We'll be discussing the major Types you're likely to encounter in the field, and some basic preventative measures: however, note that there is no one size fits all solution. Salt circles may stop incorporeal daemons, but if you wind up with a hell-spirit possessed pig, all that salt will just help season you."