Chapter Five Hundred and Fifty-Eight — Lunch and Learn
Chapter Five Hundred and Fifty-Eight — Lunch and Learn Since it was nearly noon, it only made sense for Desiree and I to grab a little bite to eat. We were spoiled for choice-the northern parts of the city were dotted with countless cafes and open-air restaurants.Before leaving the Adventurer's Guild, we'd gotten to speak with an older man who was about my dad's age. He'd been very nice, but a little confused about what we were doing. In any case, his job as an Adventurer had been to clear and protect the roads from Southerfell all the way to the furthest of the small towns along the coast.That meant that he'd visited every one of them, at least a few times each year, and had a good idea of where each one was.When I asked him about a mysterious disappearing fortress he had mentioned that one of the towns had a myth that wasn't too dissimilar to that and had pointed it out on the map.It was a town called Blackwatch, which, when I asked about the name, did strike him as somewhat weird.Blackwatch was the third-farthest town from Southerfell, with a population in the mid two-hundreds. It mostly did farming, some bit of mining, and there were apparently a few decent bloomeries there.I had to ask what that was. Apparently it was a big smelter thing that turned iron-rich rock into lumps of low-quality iron that was shipped back to Southerfell by the trainload. Neat!With the map we'd bought safely tucked away and a bunch of extra information crammed between my ears, I had decided the lunch was in order. Hence the hunt for a good spot to grab a bite.We settled on a cafe along the main street. It had a small picket fence taking up some of the sidewalk, and there was plenty of space to sit down at a few tables with parasols above them.Desiree sat across from me, her chair turned at an angle to accommodate for her tails. "Hey," I asked. "How are chairs made where you're from?"Desiree blinked, then giggled into her hand. "What an outlandish query, though I suppose it is I who is the outlandish one here. As for our seating, you'll find that we prefer stools for simple seating at home and the like, but most seats with backs are designed so that the backrest comes in from the side and sweeps around to support your mid-back. There are, of course, male and female chairs.""Huh?" I asked."It depends on the side in which the back has a slit," she said."Really?"She nodded. "Just as how garments have their tail clasp on the left for women and right for men."Wait, was this like wearing watches on opposite wrists, or the zippers on pants being on different sides, only for tails? "I didn't know that," I said. "That's neat! So if I ever look for something with room for my tail where you're from, I'll have to pay some attention to that?""Perhaps, yes," Desiree replied. "Rare as foreign visitors may be, it is customary to extend concessions to them. Any faux pas would be excused away, just as they would be for children... well. To a point.""That makes sense," I said. Then I perked up as a nice lady came over and took our orders. There was tea and biscuits and little puffs of sweet bread-the smell of baking bread had been one of the reasons we'd stopped here-covered in fresh jam made from local fruit. We ordered a bit of this and some of that, and then the lady headed out to prepare everything."This is a pleasant day," Desiree replied. "Perhaps this afternoon I'll take some time to consolidate my gains.""Your gains?" I asked.She nodded, then paused and eyed me with... not suspicion, maybe something like curiosity. "We did survive quite the little ordeal overnight, did we not? Surely your skills have flourished.""Oh, I guess?" I said. "I guess I haven't even given it any thought until just no-"I started a bit as Mister Menu popped up next to me, almost as if he was making up for lost time.Congratulations! Through repeated actions your Snoozing skill has improved and is now eligible for rank up!Rank C costs 1 Skill Point!"Oh, hello there," I said to the menu.Desiree giggled sweetly. "I see!""Usually the skills just... pop up," I said."Only if you're attempting to press them forwards. The World refrains from interrupting at ill-advised times. In my lands, most people have a ritual of taking stock of their growth each and every day, so any new levels or advancement becomes swiftly apparent, but for the few who don't pay as close attention, the World doesn't press."Huh, I supposed that made some sense. I reached up and poked Mister Menu, but as usual, he poofed with a soap-bubble pop."Do you mind if I look over my stats?" I asked."I do not, of course," Desiree replied. "I'll keep an eye peeled on our surroundings and both ears perked for trouble, yes?"I smiled, thankful, then poked at the menu with my mind.
Name
Broccoli Bunch
Race
Bun (Riftwalker)
First Class
Cinnamon Bun Bun
First Class Level
18
Second Class
Wonderlander
Second Class Level
7
Age
16
Health
165
Stamina
185
Mana
170
Resilience
80
Flexibility
95
Magic
40
Skills
Rank
Cinnamon Bun Bun Skills
Cleaning
S — 32%
Way of the Mystic Bun
C — 100%
Gardening
D — 59%
Adorable
D — 100%
Chivalry
D — 48%
Wonderlander Skills
Mad Millinery
D — 100%
Proportion Distortion
C — 45%
Social Butterfly
D — 100%
Snoozing
D — 100%
General Skills
Insight
C — 100%
Makeshift Weapon Proficiency
C — 100%
Archeology
D — 100%
Friendmaking
C — 100%
Hugging Proficiency
C — 100%
Captaining
C — 100%
Skill Points
Cinnamon Bun Bun Skill Points
5
Wonderlander Skill Points
7
General Skill Points
6
Skill Slots
First Class Skill Slots
0
Second Class Skill Slots
0
General Skill Slots
4
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.I hummed as I read over my sheet. There was a lot of progress there, and yet. "Oh... I really ought to spend a skill point one day," I said."Do you have much to spend?" Desiree asked.I nodded quickly. "Yup! Um... eighteen of them."She stared so hard I could almost feel it. "Eighteen? Dearest Captain, do my ears deceive me? You have nearly as many unspent points as I have lived years?""Um... maybe?" I tried. For some reason I was feeling a smidge of shame. "I'm saving some of them! My Cleaning magic is really cool, so what if I got it to the rank past S?""S being the Master rank of a skill?" Desiree asked."Yeah, I think that's what it's called," I agreed.She tilted her head to the side a little, which made her ear flick slightly, which was very cute. I had to wonder if she, too, was burdened by the Cute or Adorable skill line. "That's a lofty goal, I suppose. Grandmastery of a magical ability is doubtlessly an impressive feat that most wouldn't truly consider. Nonetheless, is that skill not tied to only one of your tails? Classes, I mean.""Yeah," I said. "My main class, Cinnamon Bun Bun. The other has... a lot of unspent skills too.""Then perhaps consider investing some of those? No one ever profited from hoarding their points under their tails. If you have a goal for them, then certainly they might come to be of some use, but otherwise, they're potential with no outlet.""Hmm..." Well, she wasn't wrong. "I also... ah..." I glanced around, making sure no one was near enough to overhead."We have been conversing in my native tongue, if privacy is a concern," Desiree confided. By the look of her, she was amused that I hadn't noticed.That made a lot of sense, it was a great way to keep our conversation private. Although, if we were speaking in a foreign language, it might explain some of the looks we were getting. But then again, I suppose we also appeared foreign ... and cute too, unfortunately. We attracted attention in a lot of ways."I have a lot of General Skill points as well," I admitted. "From the World asking me to, uh, fix up the occasional dungeon.""Ah, yes. Something of great worth, that. And uncommon to the point of enormous value. I can see why discretion is warranted.""Yeah. I've been trying to get some new General Skills, but they've been tricky. But you know about that." Thick Skin and Mana Regeneration were still out of my grasp. "But I think I might use a few points to improve some of my other General Skills. I think I know what I want out of them.""Oh? Please, go on, satisfy my curiosity?""Sure! So... at first, I was thinking more combat-y skills and such, but really, I don't think that's ever really been my role. I think I might spend more time and effort improving my social abilities. Stuff like Captaining and Friendmaking, or Social Butterfly and Hugging Proficiency?""That seems eminently sensible, for a captain to have the skills of their trade seems only natural to me. You've steered us well thus far, but learning to feel the nudge of the World wouldn't hurt."
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Chapter Five Hundred and Fifty-Nine — Upskill
Chapter Five Hundred and Fifty-Nine — Upskill I stared at Mister Menu for so long that I worried the poor thing might actually be getting annoyed.Desiree and I were probably overdue to return to the Beaver, but I really wanted to push some of my skills forward. "Hey," I said."Yes?" Desiree replied. She was nibbling away at a pastry. It was a Pyrowalkian speciality, a sort of square of sweeter bread with jam atop it, covered in a layer of thin wafers of crunchy bread which was in turn covered in a sort of powdered sugar. She was breaking off bits of the bread and dipping it in the jam in the centre."Um, is there anything bad that can happen if you level up too many skills at once?" I asked.Desiree blinked, then she tilted her head, considering the question. "No, I don't believe so. The World avoids manifesting harmful system aspects. That being said, I suppose that there are some skills that require time and practice to adapt to, and of course, evolutions are an entirely different matter. Progressing from one tail to two is wholly disorienting."I nodded along, very aware of the long, floppity ears atop my head. Yeah, gaining limbs, or anything poky, was a bit of an adaptation."Hmm... Okay, in that case, I think I'll see if I can't level a few skills. Captaining and Friendmaking, Social Butterfly and Hugging Proficiency?""Four at once?" Desiree asked. "Such daring!""I think it might be worthwhile," I said with a nod. "I guess I'll start with the more General skills." That seemed like a bit less of a risk. "Mister Menu, could you be a dear and show me Captaining?"Mister Menu flickered away and returned, showing me the screen for the Captaining skill.CaptainingRank C — 100%The ability to lead and take charge through smooth sailing and rough patches. You have a magical awareness of your ship and crew.Hmm, that magical awareness hadn't really come up all that often, had it? I glanced over in the general direction of the Beaver Cleaver and... yeah, I knew it was about over there and that my friends were that way too."Okay, here' goes," I muttered. "Mister Menu, two points into Captaining, please! Let's get that up to Rank B!"A new screen popped up, Mister Menu displaying a nice little congratulatory message, then under that, the new information for Captaining.Congratulations! Captaining is now Rank B!CaptainingRank B — 00%The ability to lead and take charge through smooth sailing and rough patches. You have a magical bond with your ship and crew.It took a moment for me to sense the difference, but it was definitely there. Up until now, my awareness of the ship had been faint enough to ignore. Now, it was stronger, clearer. It felt a bit like a pinch in my tummy, and for a moment I was worried that I had cramps, but no, it was different. "Oh!" I said.It was pain. Not very strong pain, more like a phantom pain?Once, when I was a younger me, I had a big, really nasty toothache. It hurt a bunch, and it was really not fair because I brushed my teeth every day and didn't eat very many candies, but it happened anyway.My parents had brought me to the dentist, and even through it was a little scary, the dentist had been nice and kind and had drilled out whatever was making my tooth hurt and filled it all in. I vaguely recalled the feeling that night, like the pain was still there, even if it really wasn't anymore.What I felt now was similar. Was it the damage that that Beaver had taken? The bolt through the deck and the dozen or so holes punched into the balloon? That was... interesting."Do you need a washroom?" Desiree asked."No, I'm okay, just a weird cramp."She blinked. "There are spells for that which every young woman ought to know.""There are? Wait, no, I mean... my skill levelled up, and now I've got a sort of phantom feel for the Beaver. It's interesting. Ah, but the ship was damaged a little, so it feels like it hurts, but it also doesn't?""That must be a strange sensation, then.""Yeah, I'm not sure I like it much. But if Awen is fixing up the Beaver then I'm sure it'll pass!"Since Captaining's change wasn't all that bad, I decided to focus on the next skill that I wanted to raise. That was Friendmaking.Of all those that I was looking at, this was the one that I was most worried about.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.Currently, Friendmaking let me see what a person's hopes and dreams were, and what they were looking for in a friend, and that was all good and useful! The problem was that I was a bit worried about what the skill might do with even a minor upgrade."Mister Menu, I'm thinking about upgrading Friendmaking, but... only if it'll help me make friends honestly. I don't want anything that's unfair, or like... changes how people see me. That wouldn't be a real friendship then, would it?"Desiree blinked. "Isn't that the same as merely putting one's best foot forward and combing their tail before a meeting?""I think there's a difference," I said. "I'm not a philosopher, to really know, but I feel like trying your best to be friendly is one thing, and having magic that cheats at it for you is another. I don't know.""Well, you've asked... Mister Menu, whom I am presuming is a personification of the system and therefore the World, not to give you anything of the sort," Desiree said."Does the World listen?" I asked.She shrugged. "I've heard that it does, but I was never witness to anything too convincing in that regard. But I can't imagine that you could do more than that.""I guess," I replied. "Let's see what that does, right Mister Menu?"Congratulations! Friendmaking is now Rank B!FriendmakingRank B — 00%The ability to make friends! When asking someone to join you in forming a bond of friendship, you may know their desires and the qualities they look for. By pushing some magic into the skill, you may know more, such as their insecurities and the quiet barriers that keep them from opening up."Oh!" I said, then I clapped and tried to grab Mister Menu for a hug, but he darted up and out of reach."Did the skill improve?" Desiree asked."Uh-huh!" I replied. "Quite a bit, too! Now I can use magic with the skill, and it tells me a little more.""Well, that's certainly interesting. And it doesn't do as you feared, manipulating others and the like?"I shook my head. "I don't think so! This is pretty nice, actually. Do you mind if I try it on you?""I don't mind at all," Desiree said. She sat back in her seat and straightened herself up. It didn't help her very much, she was still quite a bit shorter than me, especially sitting down with one of her tails wrapped around onto her lap."Hi! Would you like to be my friend?"Desiree ChartreuseDesired Quality: Someone kind and fun to be with.Dream: To gain many tails and return home a hero."Certainly!" Desiree replied. "Did that do anything?""I think so. The information's all the same, at least... from what I recall. It tells me your dream and what you want from a friend.""Interesting," she said. "And no more?""Ah, the new version requires that I pump some mana into the skill first. Can I try again?" At her nod, I charged mana into the skill as I spoke: "Would you like to be my friend?"Desiree ChartreuseDesired Quality: Someone kind and fun to be with.Dream: To gain many tails and return home a hero.Insecurities: Worried that she lacks the strength to live up to her own standards, and worries that others respect her more for her persona than for her true self. Worried that some might discover her true self. Craves recognition and admiration.Barrier to friendship: None, you are friends already."Oh, that's a lot more information," I said. Then I scooted out of my chair, went around the table, and folded down onto Desiree, giving her a big hug. "And your worries are very silly.""They are?" she asked. "I'll admit I'm not certain at the moment what my worries even are.""Well, it says that you're worried that you're not strong enough, and that people don't like you for who you are, and that's silly, because you're my friend, so of course I like you for whomever you wanna be."I gave her a squeeze, just in case.She shuddered for a second, then I felt her muscles unwind a notch. "...Thank you," she mumbled. Then she laughed, and her big fluffy tails wrapped around me, soft fur pulling me closer.She shuddered for a second, then I felt her muscles unwind a notch. "... Thank you," she mumbled.It felt like some kind of weight had fallen away from her.I think I was gonna get along just fine with this new version of Friendmaking.
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