POV - Tad

“Righteo! Plan of attack!”

I wasn’t sure I had a handle on exactly how Skills were supposed to work but I got the impression there was a vast and varied range to choose from.

It also sounded like there were some pretty stringent requirements with how you implemented them. Looking at the Skills I had gained so far they were all a little bit different to what I had expected a Skill to be. I mean Breathing was a Skill? Obviously I could breathe before I unlocked the Skill. Likewise with Introspection, I was not limited particularly by not having this Skill but what would happen if I made it one of my ‘active’ Skills? How would it develop? What other benefits and buffs might it lead to? I was itching to find out.

And then there was Rage. I had already activated that Skill and indeed, when I used it, there were definite effects well beyond what normally getting angry would involve. I remembered my muscles swelling and the flooding adrenaline and, I frowned; the way my logic and intelligence seemed to evaporate. Yes, the Skill had surely impacted me significantly. I would really need to understand how these intricacies all worked properly and in depth or I could significantly impede myself.

My tentative plan was to unlock as many Skills as I possibly could before accepting the Award. With only nine Skills actually available to ‘grind’ and improve, getting a good mix was imperative.

However, I already had an angle. I activated my Perk, slowing down my personal subjective time. Straightaway, Nige’s jiggling became more frantic like he was moving at 1.5x speed faster than me. How would this help me with gaining or growing Skills I wasn’t quite yet sure but I knew it would somehow. I released the Perk. Now this was the crunch. Was there a cool-down period before I could use it again? I reactivated it, this time speeding up my subjective time. It slotted into place and Nige’s minute wiggles slowed down as my perception sped up. Aha now I felt that I was getting somewhere.

“Try to zap me Nige”

I could see his confusion. Ahhh I was probably sounding pretty garbled. I deliberately spoke as slowly as I could.

“Try. And. Touch. Me. ”

He reached out a glowy tendril towards my right arm. I saw it coming as though through molasses and dodged adroitly to one side. He sped up. I was still able to avoid him. Fantastic! I was able to dodge him a couple more times before I was starting to feel stretched. I released the perk and time reverted to normal.

SMACK! And he got me a good one spinning me in place.

“Yeeow!”

“Enough already!”

Sure enough I had a flashing notification waiting for me. I pulled it up.

> >

Yay! Proof of concept. And this was a Skill I knew I definitely wanted. While being able to take a hit was important, not getting hit in the first place was even better. Now to determine what Skills I could unlock in the next 45hours or so.

“Nige? How do I learn magic?”

he paused somewhat uncomfortably,

Oh… oh… Well, that’s put a spanner in the works. I was disappointed but I could still beat this. The more I thought about the Award the more I wanted it. While it may make things more difficult for me at the start it offered just too much for me to throw away. The challenge somehow invigorated me. A little adversity would make me so much better. It resonated with me. I was determined to make this work.

I assigned [Dodge] and reactivated my Perk. Yep, working. I would see how long it lasted when I wasn’t being physically active.

Then I kicked myself, I should assign [Introspection] already as well seeing I was planning on delving into my build.

I started brainstorming Skills I thought I might need. I had no idea really but soonest started, soonest done.

Logic, Reason, Concentration…

Perception, Observation, Inspection, I was on a roll.

Meditation, that should help with my mind Stat’s growth. I wondered about Cultivation, was that a Skill or some totally different process? I would need to ask Nige when I wouldn’t sound like a chipmunk.

I would definitely need a Weapon Skill of some sort, or maybe something like Unarmed Mastery to go with Dodge as a kick butt monk build.

And social Skills like Haggle or Barter or Trade. Maybe Eloquence or some other type of influence Skill might be worthwhile. I wonder how powerful these might grow, like Charm or Sway or maybe Panic or Fear… yeah, I was totally going to look into these. Crowd control for the win!

And Stealth. I definitely needed to be able to Hide, or Sneak or both. And when I couldn’t, maybe something like Bluff, or Trick. This was exhilarating, just thinking of the possibilities.

Obviously, I couldn’t just gain skills by wishing for them, more's the pity, but at least I had a starting point. Of course there were the normal agility Skills like Run, Jump and Climb as well, not to mention Craft skills, Armour skills and Throwing, Swimming and Marksmanship and Traps. ARRRGGHHH! I was swamping myself.

I deliberately slowed down. I took a deep breath. And seeing it helped, I slotted in [Breathing].

I calmed myself. Approach this logically Nigel. Take just one step at a time I instructed myself. I concentrated on what I could do. I felt my heartbeat steady and gradually my pulse slowed. I delved down into who I was, and what I wanted, where I was and where I wanted to go. My mind stilled, and I entered a zen type space, my breathing deep and regular as I explored my innermost being.

[Ding]

[Ding] [Ding] [Ding]

A flood of dings greeted me as my Perk ended and my subjective time returned to normal.

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Too right! And I’ll slot in Logic and Concentration seeing they are both reinforcing my self improvement binge.

[Ding]

> >

“???”

“Nige!”