Nick let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
In truth, he was stoked that he had been able to raise one of his attributes already. It seemed that his System-enhanced body responded to exercise much faster than before.
He wondered how physical conditioning interacted with the free points that came from his levels. Whether spending a point to raise an attribute too early would prevent him from maximizing his gains. Not that Nick would hoard his points under any circumstances while his life was on the line. He was delighted that Toughness had been the first attribute to tick up. Even without understanding the details, it was a clear choice for advancement.
He was now certain that the improvements to his physique he had noticed earlier were caused by his geneline trait Versatile, although he still had no idea where it had come from. It was easy to tell that he had grown a bit stronger, but he wondered how his other gains were affecting him. He didn’t feel any smarter, more creative, or more likeable. But he lacked a means to objectively measure those aspects of himself.
Having the capacity to use magic was thrilling. At least in theory. He would be overjoyed to be able to cast spells of any kind. While the possibilities offered by magic were intriguing, Nick wasn’t willing to invest in the attribute until he understood the benefits and opportunity cost involved.
He found the question-mark fields to be equally intriguing. Whatever they were hiding was sure to be interesting. Regardless of the details, he wasn’t going to make any decisions until he spent his knowledge point.
Before he moved on to that section of the menu, he stopped to consider the improvements to his skills, nibbling on the last bites of coconut he’d been saving. Nick still had no idea how skills worked, but he was glad to have gained a point in Evaluate Danger and Foraging. They both sounded incredibly useful at face value.
He suspected that his Foraging skill was the reason why he had been so certain that the pseudo-coconuts were filled with water, even though he had never seen them before. It might have been helping him to judge whether the brackish stream was clean enough to drink too.
His Evaluate Danger skill had already saved his life. He was certain that it was the reason why he had noticed the opening he had used to kill the komo. The skill might also explain why he had begun to think of most of the creatures on the island as animals, and the more dangerous ones as beasts. Although there wasn’t a clear distinction between them, beyond an instinctual desire to avoid attracting the beasts’ attention.
You know, I really don’t like the term Evaluate Danger. It’s dry and lacks a certain flair. If I’m just thinking about it to myself, I should come up with something catchier. Hrm… I know. From now on, I will refer to the skill as “Size Up” instead.
To Nick’s surprise, the moment he made the decision, the skill listed on his profile updated to display its new name. It was both eerie and kind of awesome to watch the words on the screen shift in response to his private thoughts. Like he had leapt forward centuries and was living in the future. It felt intrusive to realize that the System could read his innermost thoughts. But then again, he supposed that it knew everything about… presumably everything.
Finally, he turned his attention to his Wand skill, which still displayed a fat goose egg. He wondered what the wand did, as it had to have a purpose. Maybe it would become clear once he found a way to raise the skill. He decided to spend a few minutes each night tinkering with the device until he figured out how to use it and could start training his skill. He was certain that he was missing a critical piece of the puzzle. That when he solved it, he would have a new tool at his disposal.
Having learned as much as he could from staring at his profile, Nick moved on to the final consideration before spending his attribute point. It was time to turn in his knowledge point, which he decided call KP for short from now on.
He returned to the main menu and selected “System encyclopedia.” He read the words that scrolled down to fill the screen. The section had been blank before, since he didn’t have any points to spend. Now it provided him with an introduction to the KP system.
Knowledge points (tutorial only): 1
To use knowledge points, select the icon below and then the part of the profile you wish to know more about. The cost in knowledge points will be displayed. If you choose to pay, an explanation of that term will be provided.
As promised, there was a flashing magnifying glass icon in one corner of the menu, as well as a field where he could enter queries directly. When Nick hit the blinking button, the screen returned to his profile. To get a feel for how it worked, he pressed the word tier, and a prompt appeared on the display.
Would you like to unlock the primer on category [Tiers]? Cost: 1 KP.
“No,” he answered aloud. Whatever tiers were, it would likely take considerable time and investment before he was ready to raise his. And he had a whole mountain of questions that he needed to have answered first.
He pondered his options while checking the price for each morsel of knowledge, any of which might save his life under the right circumstances. Most of the options only cost a single KP to unlock, except for species and geneline, which cost two, and bloodline, which cost five.
While he poked at his profile, Nick sorted through his questions regarding the System. He began working out a hierarchy based on what he needed to know now versus what could wait until later.
He definitely wanted to learn more about each of the physical attributes and Mind, as they were prime candidates for early investment. He was no match for even the weakest beasts on the island. He needed to do everything in his power to change that if he was going to have any chance of surviving an entire month here.
He also wanted to know more about the leveling system in general. How did earning experience work? Were fighting and killing the only way to grow? He had a hunch that this wasn’t the case, but it would be nice to be sure. He wondered if there were any benefits to gaining a level besides the free point and how long the process would take.
Nick was eager to learn how he could change his class. But he doubted that the information would be relevant until he finished his tutorial. Besides, he was relying on his Survivor trait to help stretch out his rations and supplement his scant hours of sleep. Switching classes too soon was probably a bad idea, although being given a basic class still chafed him, even if he couldn’t quite put his finger on why.
He was eager to learn more about abilities and the difference between active, passive, and free slots. He was certain that they would play a central role in helping him grow more powerful. But it wasn’t a good first pick since he didn’t have any abilities to work with yet.
Mulling his options over, he returned to the KP menu to inspect the custom prompt. Just to see what happened, he entered, “What is an optimal leveling strategy for a Level 1 Survivor?”
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Nick expected the display to throw an error back at him. That his question would wind up being too specific or somehow out of bounds. But instead, the prompt read:
An answer to this question will cost 10 KP.
You have insufficient knowledge points at this time.
He tried out a few more and learned that questions that provided advice or explained the relationship between terms cost more KP. The cheapest would set him back five points, well beyond his present means.
He could potentially hoard knowledge points and attempt to fashion the ultimate question, trying to outwit or game the System. But Nick had no idea how many KP he would find on the isle, and every point he didn’t spend represented another way he might die today.
Ten minutes later, he was ready to make his decision.
After deciding to tinker with the custom prompt later, to see if he could learn anything from the point cost involved or an outright rejection of a question, he went back to his profile and clicked on the icon next to the word attributes.
Now that he knew he could raise his physical attributes through conditioning his body, he needed to learn more about the process. How free points and conditioning interacted, including any limitations that might not be obvious.
Nick would consider how to spend any KP he found later long and hard, but he was certain that this was the right place to start.
Would you like to unlock the basic primer on category [Attributes]? Cost: 1 KP.
He waited for a minute, then another, but nothing happened. Then he realized that he had never confirmed the prompt. He went to touch “Yes,” only to find that there was no such button, or a digital keyboard for that matter.
Wait. How did I fill in the prompt before? The display had responded to his thoughts so naturally that he hadn’t even noticed. It probably wasn’t a touch screen at all. Um… yes? he thought, feeling a bit weird that he was trying to command what looked like a computer with his mind.
But once again, Nick’s will proved sufficient to guide the display, and several paragraphs of text scrolled up to fill the screen.
Attributes
Attributes correspond to the various physical, mental, and energetic aspects that define your present capabilities. Their values reflect your level of development relative to other members of your species at the time of integration.
For physical and mental attributes, the average values for humans of Earth have been standardized to 5 (not including the bonuses granted by your geneline traits).
As your species was awakened to energetic attributes during integration, your scores are unusually low. Instead, 5 represents the average for Level 0 contestants residing in your sector.
Attributes are a composite of baseline values and gains from leveling. Baseline attributes include points acquired from geneline traits, as these represent fundamental changes to your genetic structure. Baseline attributes can be improved through conditioning up to a value of 10 (for grade-E species).
It is relatively easy to raise baseline attributes to 5, moderately difficult to raise them to 7, and reaching 8 or above requires intensive effort over a prolonged period. They will improve faster in dangerous situations than through general exercise.
Additional attribute points are gained with each new level, at values determined by your class.
The word integration triggered an echo of dread somewhere in the depths of his subconscious. Before those buried truths could rise to the surface of his awareness, something reached into his head and shoved them back down, returning his attention to the words on the screen.
The mention of sectors and other species was absolutely intriguing, offering the tantalizing prospect that Nick might one day stand face-to-face with aliens from another world. The info regarding his mysterious geneline traits was equally fascinating. He nodded, satisfied with what he had learned. He had been provided with more information than he had expected for a single KP.
He would normally have geeked out for hours, riding the high of exploring such extraordinary possibilities. Instead, he shoved his excitement to one side and returned his attention to the task at hand. It was time to decide how he would spend his free point, then find something to eat before it grew too dark to forage.
He had thought that since his physical and mental attributes averaged five, he was totally typical for his species after the recent increase to his Toughness. It was a bit disappointing, but it wasn’t too humbling. Nick had really let himself go after switching his career to professional gaming.
But he had been including the bonuses provided by his Versatile trait without realizing it, since the values on his profile incorporated them. Now he was faced with the uncomfortable truth that other than his Mind and Creativity, he had been below average across the board. This was both sobering and humiliating, but it stoked his competitive spirit.
At least I can do something about it now. The System has given me a chance to catch up to the rest of the pack. In that moment, he came to a decision. No matter the price, he would overcome his weakness. Apply himself and train rigorously. The old Nick was gone, and the new Nick had no intention of remaining ordinary any longer.
Now that he knew investing his free points didn’t count toward conditioning his body, he didn’t have to worry about squandering his potential by spending them too soon. He wasn’t sure how everything worked behind the scenes. But it seemed that the System would let him grow in whatever direction he desired without having to worry about wasting his points by investing them in underdeveloped attributes.
Which was great since Nick was going to spend his free point, no matter what. He had already had too many close calls over the last day and a half. He needed to improve his odds now, while he had the chance.
Since he had just been given a powerful incentive to condition his physique, he took a few laps around the obelisk while mulling his options over, considering which attributes would enhance his immediate prospects of survival.
Charisma and Creativity were out. Although they sounded useful in general, neither attribute seemed geared toward helping him endure a month on the Searing Isle. Nick was all alone and had more ideas than he could act on already.
Improving his Mind was an intriguing possibility, although it still wasn’t clear what self-aspects it governed. Getting smarter at the press of a button was a dream come true, and he would likely invest in Mind once he knew exactly what it did. But it wasn’t a good first pick.
His Mind was the only baseline attribute that was naturally above average. He was already good at strategic planning and confident that his skills were sufficient to tackle the challenges he had encountered thus far. Besides, he wasn’t sure that there was a direct relationship between Mind and intelligence. His Versatile trait had already raised his Mind by one, and he had yet to notice any obvious effects since waking up on the island.
Specializing in magic sounded straight-up awesome, and Nick did have his wand, which he hoped would tie into the attribute somehow. But it was likely going to take some time to figure out the rules of magic, making it too early to invest in that direction too. Fuck. Why did they have to make learning the rules of the System its own minigame? I hate having to speculate when making such an important decision.
He wished that he was able to unpack the details of what each attribute did now, but he was out of KP and was burning daylight. There’s no use in complaining. Just focus and do the best you can. At least the applications of the physical attributes seem relatively intuitive.
With the bottom two rows out of the running, he returned his attention to the top, carefully considering each before making his decision.
Strength was clearly top-tier. Nick had already learned that he was a poor match for even the weakest creatures on the island. If he was forced to fight, being able to land decisive blows would be critical, especially when using primitive weapons like rocks and sticks. Raising his Strength should also let him carry more without overburdening himself, which would be helpful in nearly any situation.
Dexterity would likely improve his ability to dodge and might provide a boost to his accuracy. That would be great if he wanted to specialize in melee combat. But for now, he was effectively unarmed. Getting up close and personal with the beasts on the beach sounded like a terrible idea.
He wasn’t sure which attribute would help him run faster. Which was too bad, as Nick desperately needed to be able to outrun the local predators. His first encounter with the komos had nearly cost him his head. Would Dexterity help me make less noise? Not unless I already know how to move silently, and I don’t even know where to begin.
Eventually, he was ready to make his choice. He sent his will into the display and selected Toughness, raising its value to 5. He had been leaning toward picking it all along, but now he was certain that his reasoning was sound. Right now, a sprained ankle, a short fall, or a bite from a komo could end his life, either killing him outright or crippling him to the point where he could no longer defend himself or forage for sustenance.
Whether Toughness rendered his body better able to withstand punishment, allowed him to heal faster, or passively improved his stamina, raising it would likely save his life before his trial was over.
A confirmation window appeared on the display, which he had been expecting. But Nick was completely unprepared for the intense sensations that came along with the package.