“Introspection is important in the pursuit of Skill mastery, but Introspection is an anchor. You might think I am wrong, that you will succeed where all else failed. When they retrieve your dehydrated corpse I will have no sympathy.”

~Unknown

Normally I’d be exhausted after an afternoon ‘playing’ with Jusep and Bella. Not just physical exhaustion, it was mentally draining to pretend I was engaged with their childish nonsense for hours on end. I missed the internet. Babysitting my nephew when I could throw on whatever animated movie was popular that month and recover while they sang along to songs they’d heard a thousand times before was way easier than having to actually engage.

General frustrations aside, that day was different. The mounting anticipation of finally getting a local perspective of The System kept me rejuvenated even as Bella babbled rules for a game I didn’t care about for the umpteenth time.

When we returned home, Tina tried to distract me with talks of dinner and helping her in the kitchen. Stews were a common staple on our menu since I graduated from the mush. When I was given the privilege of ‘helping’ it would be to do things like count the pieces of not-potato that went into the pot before we transferred it to the stove. Tina would count along with me the first few times to teach me numbers, which I found endearing. Tulos spent the time loading up a wagon for the following morning. Mostly cuts of wood for all manner of purpose, but he’d recently picked up the odd hobby of using a small hatchet to carve simple figurines, a selection of which I saw him bundle in cloth and add to his delivery.

The meal was filling, if bland by my old life’s standards. I’d grown used to the relative lack of seasoning used in the local cuisine, though. One had to show restraint with the salt when restocking wasn’t as simple as a trip to the local supermarket. “Mom, is it time for you to tell me about Perseverance now?” I asked innocently after Tina finished the washing up outside. No plumbing. I missed it even more than the internet. I was sitting on our front step while Tulos sat on a nearby stump he’d fashioned into a stool capable of comfortably supporting him. He was idly smoking a pipe and had, until that moment, appeared content. In response to my question he sputtered and choked, his peaceful inhale interrupted by the apparent spontaneity of my request. A small cloud of ash lingered around him as he silently sought an explanation from his wife.

Tina shot Tulos an apologetic look and I had to restrain a chuckle when I realized how he was completely blindsided by the development.

“I almost forgot about that,” she lied smoothly. “A promise is a promise though.” She sat next to me and scooped me up so I’d be sitting on her lap. It made it impossible to see her face which, in hindsight, was probably the idea. She took a moment to gather her thoughts, and for a moment I worried she was about to concoct a last minute excuse to delay. Fortunately, I was wrong.

“I already told you a little bit about The System,” she lectured, still not sounding entirely sure of herself. She used her native word for The System but I just translated it in my head to keep my thoughts straight. “For you, Perseverance is-”

“What do you think Perseverance is, Will?” Tulos cut in. I can only imagine Tina had signaled with her eyes that she needed the assist and Tulos was quick to catch on. He looked at me patiently and I knew he’d give me as much time as I needed to answer. Probably.

Well shit, this is less than ideal.

I scrunched up my face in thought which elicited an almost-smile from Tulos. His lip briefly twitched into an upwards turn before he settled back into his default stoicism. They were stalling and it was working. Tulos probably thought I was wracking my young brain trying to think about how to articulate my experiences. I was definitely wracking, but my concern was how much I should say.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

This could really screw me over.

If The System was universally a semi-transparent blue screen for everyone, regardless of literacy, then there’s no way a child - or anyone illiterate, really - would be able to gain insight into their Core Skill. Hwan’s orb manifested a screen, so I felt confident that it wasn’t unique to me to have it presented as such, but I didn’t know what the default should be.

That and Tina didn’t look at me like I’d grown a third eye when I mentioned Perseverance.

It had to be possible for children to know something. No matter how much I said, it would be a gamble. Do I share my full understanding and assume that, even without a screen, a person can just kind of know their Skills and progression? But then why bother with a screen at all? Is it just a general sense of things? I needed to make a decision before Tulos and Tina left me with the problem as homework and ended the conversation.

Stop. Breathe. Make a decision and deal with damage control later.

I closed my eyes and followed my own instructions. It was another benefit I was attributing to my increasing levels of Perseverance. The bridge between my mind and body felt sturdier. Less cluttered. The transition from thought to action had never felt so smooth. Having made a decision, I spoke.

“Perseverance is something inside of me.” I pointed at my stomach, the source of the mysterious surges that sporadically came from the Skill when I needed them. “It started small, but it is getting bigger. When it gets big enough, I feel like something is going to happen. What’s going to happen?” I erred on the side of caution and tried to explain everything with vague, childish feelings.

I felt Tina stiffen behind me and was immediately concerned I’d said too much. “You said it’s getting bigger? How many times has it gotten bigger, Will?” She sounded concerned and Tulos’ gaze also intensified. I’d definitely said too much, but I didn’t dare backtrack. I worried that if they caught me in a lie at that moment I’d make them suspicious, and I had bigger secrets to worry about than my Skill. I had to take my chances.

“Six times, I think.” I tried to sound clumsily confident, like I was a regular kid sharing something interesting with his parents. Tina muttered something under her breath that sounded like a curse and Tulos’ eyebrows shot up.

“My love, that is-”

“It is.”

The pause was palpable. I went into crisis mode. Surely I was progressing too fast and had raised some kind of alarm bells. An interrogation had to be imminent. I tried to get a look at Tina but the underside of her chin wasn’t exactly telling. She was looking at Tulos, the pair of them having one of those silent conversations couples sometimes had. Finally, Tulos spoke.

“Perseverance is your Core Skill.” Much like with The System, their words for the Skill classification were different but ultimately had the same meaning after Tulos explained them to me in context. Tina remained silent, which surprised me. I’d have thought she’d be taking the lead in the explanation.

“When a child is born we count the days. After one-hundred-and-eighty days The System bestows them with a Core Skill. Will, your Core Skill is Perseverance. A Universal Core.” Behind me, Tina pointedly coughed and Tulos nodded before continuing. “Some people instead believe that we are born with our Core Skills and that The System merely reveals them to us.” My eyes went wide with excitement.

Finally! New information!

It was a simple explanation, no doubt hastily tailored for a child. Idly, I wondered how much of the explanation they expected me to remember. It wasn’t a huge surprise that people had different beliefs surrounding The System and how it functioned. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a religion or seven based off of it. I knew stories of people giving divine significance to stains on a plank of wood, let alone a literal magical thing that made itself known to everyone. What Tulos said didn’t sound like dogma, but he hadn’t necessarily ruled out System religions either.

“What are your Core Skills?” I made a show of looking between the two of them, not having to feign the eagerness on my face. I had my theories, of course, but the mystery of Tina and Tulos’ Core Skills had been nagging at me since I discovered The System.

The silent tension returned. Tulos looked conflicted and I still couldn’t see Tina’s face, but she gave me a gentle hug. It was Tina who broke the silence first.

“My love, we do not have to…” she trailed off when Tulos held up a hand to forestall the rest of her sentence.

“He will find out eventually. Best to tell him on our terms.” He gave me a reassuring smile and I returned it as best I could. Internally, I was buzzing. Tulos and his role in the community felt like a massive puzzle for which I only had half a corner piece. Every second felt like it stretched while he gathered the resolve he needed to enlighten me. Finally, he spoke.