Name: Ra
Age: 0
Level: 0
Body: peak mortal
Mind: enhanced
Soul: {in flux}
Traits:
Void brushed
Cognito-hazard resistance
Skills:
Silent step – level 15
Fortified mind – level 18
Languages – level 1
General knowledge – level 9
…
Very nice! Finally, my status is starting to come together. Now then, onto those mysterious three dots. What are they called, an eclipse? No, ellipses? Who knows, three dots is good enough for me.
I try to focus my mind on them and voila, it actually works. The whole window where my status was changes to contain a vastly different thing. It actually almost becomes many smaller screens.
You have learned the skill: Status!
Accept?
You have learned the skill: Forestry!
Accept?
…
These and similar prompts bombard my vision. Ok, bombard is a bit of an exaggeration. There aren’t really that many of them, but still. There’s a lot more stuff than I expected, okay!
So, this is how I acquire new skills, huh? Why didn’t they pop up like the annoying skill level up notifications did at first? Wait, don’t tell me that when I shouted at the System it turned off all of my notifications. That can’t be it, right? Have I missed something important because of that? Shiiiiit!
That’s fine, that’s fine. I’ll just have to reenable it and hopefully there wasn’t anything super important that I missed. Ok, done. Hopefully. I’m still not exactly sure how the System works.
Now then, onto the actual skills I have apparently learned. Which I can already tell is a very wrong word to use in this situation, because I definitely did not learn anything about forestry. What even is forestry? At most I did a couple of actions that could be counted as a part of it and even that is doubtful, since I have no idea what such actions would actually be.
And all that goes without even mentioning the weirdly named skill of Status. Like, what does that even do? And I know for sure that I did not learn anything real about this part of the System that I have access to. Yeah, this is all bullshit, I say.
Obviously, the System has a different definition for things than I do. For example, learned actually probably means that I have completed some kind of action making me eligible to add the skill to my skill list, which will allow me to level that skill. Consequently, making it possible, or perhaps easier, for me to achieve supernatural ability in that thing. Yeah, that sounds much better than whatever the words actually mean.
Which brings me to my next point. Should I accept any of these? I did tell myself that I won’t accept any skills unless I find them to be extremely useful until I figure out whether or not there’s some kind of limit on the number of skills I can have.
So, would the Status skill be useful? I find it hard to imagine a scenario where it would be, but then again, I don’t know much about the System and there could be something accessible only through this skill. On the other hand, my new definition of the prompt I am facing suggests that I can still learn all of this without relying on the System to aid me. Yeah, let’s reject it, I’m sure it going to be fine.
Next up, forestry. Once again, I do not actually have any idea what this does. Obviously, it has something to do with a forest, likely something to do with what I already manage to do. Which consists mostly of Walking semi-quietly and ‘harvesting’ some ooze from the trees. Yuck, don’t want to think about that.
So no, I don’t think I particularly want to be super good at those things. Rejected!
You have learned the skill: Status!
Accept?
What the fuck!? I just rejected you! Does, does this mean that even if I reject a skill, I can get it later by just performing an activity related to it? Isn’t that sort of overpowered? Then again, it is sort of an asshole move to make someone pick a skill right in that moment without having a chance to properly think I through or any a chance to change one’s mind.
Ok, fair enough. Let me just check that none of these skills are unique things I won’t be able to reproduce. And, they aren’t, so I’m rejecting all of them and setting my System to only notify me if I ‘learn’ a skill I haven’t been offered before.
Right-o, and on we go.
By now I’d say that I’m pretty far into this forest. Yes, it’s been only a couple of hours which isn’t really that much, but I think I’ve begun to notice another effect of one of my skills. Yes, silent step.
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I’m still not exactly sure, why, how, or even if at all, but I’m beginning to suspect that it doesn’t just make me more silent. It may just all increase my walking speed a little bit. And maybe even running, I haven’t tried.
I wonder why that is. Is it just because it’s a combination skill of a bunch of different movement ones, some of which must have been about speed, or is it something else? Perhaps the higher level it is the broader its influence on my actions is? Hmm, no that sounds ominous. I didn’t mean that it affects my decision making, but my actual physical actions. But now that I think about it, that may be an issue with my more mental related ones.
Then again, I can’t expect to not make different decisions after my mind’s been enhanced and I can make better judgements.
Perhaps the best course of action would be to not think about it until I get some proper evidence that it’s affecting me in a negative way. Yeah, that’s exactly what I do. Repressing issues for the win!
Now what should I do? Another thing that will be missing from my life now, other than the multitude of conveniences of civilization, is the internet and all the entertainment it contains. Sure, perhaps my fortified mind skill will help with enduring that, but what until it’s high enough in level to effectively achieve that? Am I supposed to just suffer?
No, I refuse. And I also just had the greatest idea to prevent that. Theatre of the mind! If I can get a skill along the lines of imagination or something, I should be able to create entertainment in my head for myself without needing to reinvent the mobile phone and all that stuff.
Good, so how should I go about doing this? I should imagine something in my head. It should also have a high detail to go along with it, so that I can actually properly immerse myself inside. Hmm, but what to imagine, what to imagine. Ah, I’m sure a scene from Earth will be good enough.
So, what should it be. Something with some variety, in case that helps me get a better skill from it. Maybe an entrance to a park. That’d have some city elements and also nature ones. Oh, I can already see it.
A concrete road leading to a metallic gate, behind which is a sea of greenery.
You have learned the skill: Imagine!
Accept?
Hmm? Wasn’t that a bit too fast? It was wasn’t it. So what happens if I continue to add details to my inner scene?
The road is mostly empty, with at most a couple cars and bicycles parked to the side. The gate, which is at least three meters high curves into floral patterns. The gaps between the bars on the gate and the connecting fence are quite large, perhaps enough to fit a watermelon through, but close enough to be an effective deterrent. Behind the gate, the road continues, though now it’s much smaller and made mostly of dirt that has been compressed by people walking on it day after day for a long time. Inside the park, a green sea of lush grass stretches as far as the eye can see, occasionally interspersed by trees which become increasingly more common the further one walks into the park. Along the path are…
You have learned the skill: Visualize!
Accept?
Aha, I knew there was something more for me to achieve. I should also do that in the future before accepting any skills. It’d be a shame to settle for something lesser when even just a bit more effort could yield much better result.
Yes, accept. Please and thank you.
Now then, let’s try it out. I try to imagine the same scene as before and immediately; the difference is obvious. Damn, I don’t know if all the skills have this profound of an effect, but this already feels slightly supernatural.
Let’s see this skill, and since I’m on it, might as well see the other ones as well.
Level Up!
Silent step – level 15 -> 20
Fortified mind – level 18 -> 21
General knowledge – level 9 -> 10
Visualize – level 0 -> 2
Damn, it only took that much to level it by two levels already? Ah, but silent step is already starting to slow down and it only just entered into the twenties. Maybe it actually will be a bother to level them after a certain point.
No matter. I now have, hopefully, my very own home theatre, a mind theatre, so I should be able to entertain myself even through some gruelling levelling sessions. That is, if it works.
So, to test it out, I try to imagine something simple. Just a silhouette of a person running. And sure enough, there it is. It sure is running. But this isn’t very entertaining, so let’s add some scenery. A sparse forest would be nice.
Ok, that’s better, but there’s still something missing. Yes, something should be chasing this figure. Soon enough, a silhouette of a bear-like creature appears behind the imaginary person, whose posture also changes into a more panicky run.
Good, now there’s some tension, but I still can’t imagine myself ‘watching’ this on hours on end. There has to be action.
Suddenly, the figure spot something in the distance. What is that? A sword, stuck into the side of a tree! Filled with hope, it speeds up towards it, briefly outrunning the beast chasing it. Arriving at the sword it takes the handle into both of its hands and pulls with all of its might. But the sword is stuck too deep inside the tree.
Despair approaches as the bear comes ever nearer when, filled with adrenaline, the figure finally manages to rip the sword out. It enters a rudimentary stance that it perhaps saw once somewhere and prepare to face the monster of a bear.
The bear, barrelling forwards has no time to stop and receives a deep gash to its side. And yet, it still stands. Such a weak strike won’t be enough to defeat it! And so, the armed figure strikes once more, but this time the bear is ready. It dodges to the side and…
Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! Shit, my head hurts! Fuck! What the hell happened? I crouch down, wanting to curl up and die. This wasn’t supposed to happen!
A couple moments pass and my headache soon passes. That was one of the weirdest things of my life. Not including the whole end of the world and reincarnation bits, of course. But anyway, what’s up with that pain?!
Is my mind really so weak that I can’t even create a simple fight scene in my head without crippling myself? Maybe it wasn’t such a great plan after all. No! I’ve already wasted a skill on it, which I still don’t know if it has a penalty attached to it. I can’t give up now!
And besides, I could already also spot another problem with this kind of entertainment. My mind is too focused on actually creating the stuff I’m watching that I cannot properly focus on actually enjoying it. And at the same time, since I’m the one who is making it, I already know what’s going to happen. That also sucks some of the joy out of it.
I really should have thought this through more, shouldn’t I.
Eh, whatever. I’m sure a different skill will fix this. And I already have an idea for what.