Chapter 9
Kopius returned from his solo trip outside to find Oh-jin and Cici milling about in the lab. The chemist was mixing fluids at the Stamina colored station while Cici was picking up and smelling various items around the shop. Candle light and fire pit flames took turns dancing with the shadows as if they were fighting to be the only source of luminance in the room. Kopius was all for working in dim or dark areas but Oh-jin’s lab came across as bi-polar. It either looked like a raging Hell of flames or that one struggling hall nightlight that gave just enough to navigate while half asleep. Neither man noticed his arrival and Kopius made his way to the back of the shop. Oh-jin finally saw him and motioned across the space where Kopius saw a modest plate of food. He looked back at the chemist, informally bowed in thanks and then made his way to the meal.
“You know guys,” Kopius chimed between bites, “I still have nine Attribute points to assign.” He pulled his water skin to his lips and took a long swig. “But I was thinking on my walk, about what Cici said-putting too many points at once. Won’t I have the same issue? How many points did you use for Strength that one time?” He said pointing over at Cici.
“Five in all. I jumped two levels and found three Senteney Stones.”
“It’s rare enough to come across one Senteney Stone, let alone three,” Oh-jin inserted.
“Haven’t found a one since! I’ll tell you all about it on my next stay though,” Cici teased with a wink.
“And Kopius,” Oh-jin added, “I believe you will be fine. Even still–if you have a similar experience–because you have had a relatively short time to learn your body, you will have little to compare the difference to.”
This was another thing that Kopius had considered on his stroll and he thought about it in gaming terms. Cory was a sucker for a console First-Person Shooter, commonly known by its shorter name: FPS. In the beginning, leaving all settings at Default, he went about his business of having fun and learning the game(s). Eventually, through various trials and tribulations, he adjusted some settings to be more competitive. When he changed the movement stick sensitivity from a medium of 5 to a high of 8, his gaming experience was much the same as Cici’s story. He would try to look to a side and would practically do a 360 on the screen. When he looked up or down it was either sky or dirt, nothing in between. To resolve this issue in future FPS’s, Cory opted to start games on high sensitivity as to avoid that particular struggle. Anyhow, that’s what Oh-jin was getting at, at least, that’s the way Kopius took it.
“Alright then,” Kopius finally replied. “How do I get this party started?”
“What party is this?” Oh-jin countered.
“Do I just focus on the Attribute to add the points?”
“Pull up your Attributes and I will use my Peep. Let’s have a look before you start assigning the points.”
Kopius opened his interface and navigated his way to the Attribute tab. He looked over it while Oh-jin took on a contemplative demeanor. Cici continued to root around the shop in the background, placing different items on a shelf like he was going to purchase them or something.
image [https://i.imgur.com/WeKwhrj.png]
“Well,” the old man huffed, “there is a lot of room to grow here. Normally I would stress balance until you reach your Form. At the very least your Intelligence should be at ten. I suggest you bring them all even at thirteen.” Kopius did a double take before looking at Oh-jn’s math.
Well shit, Kopius thought, I could do that. He liked the symmetry of it; the simplicity. It was easier to keep track of the one number.
He needed to figure out how damage worked here but also didn’t feel like reminding Oh-jin he hadn’t read something. As far as basic damage dealing was concerned in traditional RPG games, his STR value would be added to his weapons damage value for total damage score. There were, of course, other mitigating factors but that was the jist. Bracing himself for a lecture, he explained all this to Oh-jin and Cici.
“No,” Oh-jin stated bluntly as if insulted. “God’s no! Weapon sharpness, weapon speed,–”
“Type of weapon, where the strike lands,” Cici added enthusiastically. “Is there armor or shield, is it metal or wood or stone… “
“Using a weapon has an exponential striking value when compared to using your hands or feet,” Oh-jin picked up the conversation. “For you, Kopius, striking with eleven Strength will do more than eleven damage given your speed, leverage, angle, etc. Let’s say you can do a maximum of twenty-five damage on a perfect strike. Those dull blades of yours turn that twenty-five into–I’m guessing here– two-hundred or so damage. Keep in mind that we are speaking of blunt force; this is not taking into account if you were to pierce or slash.”
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“Okay, I get it. I get it,” Kopius groaned, feeling kind of silly for the question now. He decided to think about how to distribute his points rather than the mechanics of it all. Intelligence to ten was a must. The single digit there was stripping away at his pride in an irrational, unexplainable fashion. He knew that learning the dynamics of how Intelligence was applicable was a future headache he did not want. Kopius simply knew he would feel better by getting that number into the double digits and at the moment that was enough.
“Cici,” Oh-jin said, “do you have any input?”
“Nah. What someone does with their points is no one's business. At least, as far as I am concerned.”
“Hmm,” Kopius hmm-ed. “I could just save the points until I need them. You know, like an emergency?”
“A foolish and blatantly irresponsible idea,” Oh-jin retorted.
“That it is, Oh-jin. That it is!” Cici said with a laugh.
Cory was never one to save Skill points for future use. It was, as Oh-jin had elegantly said–foolish and irresponsible–but Kopius wanted to see their reaction to the idea. From time to time, people would have their particular reasons for stashing the points. Yet, it seemed like this was a case where video game logic didn’t add up. There was a grace period, a learning curve for each Attribute on Metem that made hoarding a really bad idea. Kopius wasn’t going to be able to slap fight his way back home and he knew that.
“Ok guys, it was just a thought,” Kopius said with raised, I surrender hands. “Everybody calm down.”
“It just would not work out well, my boy,” Oh-jin advised.
“That’s fine, it’s fine,” Kopius asserted. “Maybe I should just put them all in Strength and Dexterity, I mean, my build is already leaning in that direction.”
“I understand why you might want to do that,” the old man began, “put all your points into Strength and Dexterity. The need to run and punch things. But your Intelligence is low, almost superficially. If you were to invest in that Attribute you would be able to run more efficiently, know where/when to attack more strategically. Understand this; you can pound a nail with a rock but you’ll get consistent results with a hammer.”
Is he saying I’m a neanderthal? Kopius wondered.
“At the beginning of the day,” Oh-jin continued, “It is your choice; your path to decide.”
Kopius leaned against the cabinet and started to debate himself. He was thankful that the topic up for discussion was all for his benefit. Things could get rather uncomfortable when his internal thoughts came down to blows. Here, instead of choosing between paying rent and his baseball card collection, Kopius found himself in a rare ‘Treat yourself’ moment. It was like walking into a candy shop with grandma or grandpa, knowing damn well you could get at least one item. He considered everything Oh-jin had said, as well as Cici’s indifference. Of all the things that had been mentioned, Kopius kept circling back to the first thing Oh-jin had advised. Well, what he normally would have advised: balance until he reached his Form.
Kopius looked over his numbers a few times to double check the math. With balance in mind, he focused on his Strength Attribute and added three points. His body twitched slightly, small spasms randomly erupting across his body, like all his muscles were burping. It was over as quickly as it started and after a short pause Kopius placed three points into Dexterity. This time his joints all performed their own knee-jerk reactions as if being all hit by a reflex hammer. The moment of unsteadiness passed just as quickly as the burping muscles had.
Lastly, with more caution than he had an explanation for, Kopius tentatively placed his remaining three Skill points into Intelligence; bring it into the double digits. At first, his eyes began to feel a slight pressure similar to a morning after a night of crying. That was followed by the sensation of his head being pierced by the world's worst brain freeze. It ran from the back of his pupils and cut a swath right to the start of his spinal cord before it disappeared as well.
“Fucking ouch!” Kopius groaned, as he rubbed at his whole head and face. “A heads up would have been awesome!”
“It only hurts the first time lad,” Cici said with a friendly pat on the back. “As long as blood doesn't start coming out of your ears, you’ll be fine.”
“That, uh, that’s not reassuring.” Kopius said as he gave his head one last waggle.
“Let’s have a look at your Attributes Kopius,” Oh-jin asked, ignoring the rest.
“I thought you could only see my Profile with Peep.”
“Most will only see your Profile,” Oh-jin lectured. “I have long Mastered Peep. I can see whatever you are looking at.”
“Okay, fine,” Kopius complained. He too often wished he had such a short and vague answer for his powers. Instead, he was stuck learning life on the go; something he was now thankful he had experience in.
image [https://i.imgur.com/v6lmrKr.png]
“Very nice,” Oh-jin observed, adjusting the goggles on his face. “Though, if you do come upon a Senteney Stone, I advise growing your Intelligence.”
“Yeah, you seem to be harping on that point pretty hard.”
“It is only–”
“For my benefit. Yeah, you’ve been a broken record about it. So, I get it.”
“Broken record?”
“It’s a–it’s… ,” Kopius paused, a stumped look taking over his face. wtf is a record and how does it work if it's broken, he wondered. “I actually don’t know where that comes from. I know what it means, so we have that going for us.”
“Well what does it mean lad,” Cici implored.
“Repeating stuff. Things that do or say the same thing, but like, over and over again.” Kopius made hand gestures as though he had some device and the device was making repetitive motions as an example. “It’s something my Papa, my grandfather, would say.” Kopius felt the smallest inkling of pride passing on his grandfather's witticisms. He risked cracking a smile as he realized that this wasn’t the first time he had done it here.
“I rather like the other one,” Cici raved. “The one about being a swinger.”
“No, not a swinger!” Kopius quickly corrected. “Go down swinging. It’s a–euphemism.” He gave Oh-jin a look.
“Yes,” Cici clapped, “that’s the one. Go down swinging.”