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What Will Be | Chapter 24
🕑 Added 2024-02-15 16:30:01 +0000 UTCAuthor's Note: What an incredible 24 hours this has been! Bog Standard gave WWB a shout-out and an influx of new readers have come to check out the story. I am so excited to continue writing and sharing this story with everyone. Thank you for your support!
“What Skills make for a good leader? I most often find this question asked in the context of monarchies or similar systems of government that grant an individual absolute authority. Over the years, I have heard many heated arguments on the subject and, at times, participated in a few myself. Why must you look so surprised?
I will have you know, I was something of a rebellious youth. Mischief and mayhem were my creed and- too much? Well, I once deposited a book at my university’s library on the incorrect shelf, which I can assure you was an act of pandemonium at the time. Now, where was I?”
~Unknown
Strength [Body] is a common Skill among laborers, empowering them to perform feats of physical might beyond what should be possible. The Skill was responsible for Tulos’ ability to haul a loaded cart like a draft horse, and for the myriad villagers I’d often seen casually dragging massive plows through their fields. It was one of the few Skills I’d been able to learn about in any sort of detail.
Possessing the Skill gradually caused a person to develop a physicality that mirrored their capabilities. It made sense, when I stopped to think about it. Of course if you spend your days lifting heavy things you’ll start to put on muscle mass. The System built upon what was already there: Form. It then made it better: Function. I sensed there was a connection there, one I hoped to leverage in choosing my second Skill.
“System, I want a Skill to enhance my ability to recover from injuries, from fatigue, everything.” Even if I were some kind of action hero - which I definitely wasn’t - accidents happen. The wrong kind of injury is often debilitating for months, or even years at a time. Even after recovery, assuming recovery is possible, it is rare to return to full functionality.
I was going to make mistakes. I was going to get caught off guard. It was inevitable. What happened to Jusep could just as easily have happened to me. I needed a way to make sure that, so long as I could cling to survival, I’d be able to try again another day.
…
Threshold proficiency has not been achieved in Recovery. It is not an eligible Skill.
The System window was disheartening, but not beyond my expectations. Since the night of Core Skill selection, I’d gone over my memories of the System messages ad nauseam. Idle analysis helped fill quiet moments and ward off thoughts of home. The term ‘recognized proficiency’ was one I regularly pondered. To improve Perseverance, I had to demonstrate my growing ability, presumably so that the System could… I don’t know, quantify it, or something.
Did achieving threshold proficiency require a similar demonstration? Learning to walk resulted in an assortment of bumps, bruises and scrapes. I recovered. There were times I effectively collapsed from exhaustion. I recovered. There was never any focused intent, though. Could I really be proficient in something that just kinda happened? Except, I do know what happened.
“Check again,” I snapped. My real body was actively recovering. I already had the form, so I tried to guide the function.
I drew on every shred of highschool biology I could remember and commanded my body to capitulate. Unsure if it would be helpful or not, I verbalized the process. Intent was important, I knew this. I spoke of DNA and cell structures, of calories and REM sleep. I mentioned every microtear in my muscles and every time my body worked to establish homeostasis. I even made sure to mention that the mitochondria was the powerhouse of the cell, just in case.
I claimed every process as my own, a demonstration of recovery bolstered by my will. My knowledge was incomplete and likely riddled with minor errors. Except, I wasn’t aiming for perfection. I just needed-
You have demonstrated the minimum threshold proficiency for Recovery.
You have demonstrated the minimum threshold proficiency for Recovery [Body].
Fuck yeah! Minimum, you are my new favorite keyword. The satisfaction I felt at my efforts paying dividends with The System almost made up for all the times it gave me the silent treatment. Almost. The specialized version of the Skill was tempting. Presumably, it would more directly enhance my ability to recover from injury. I almost selected it right away, but the steady thrum of energy emanating from Perseverance gave me pause.
Where did that energy come from?
If the well of power fueling my Skills was finite then, logically, it too would have to recover. Fortunately, I was in the covetous position of being able to ask the source directly. Given that the System still presented itself to me in English, I often wondered if the words and terminology it used for Skills were secondary to their concepts. When I asked the System for a variation of Recovery that focused on magical energy, I envisioned a blue resource bar beneath a game avatar.
Threshold proficiency has not been achieved in Recovery [Mana]. It is not an eligible Skill.
Well, that settles it then.
The notification implied that, in time, the unspecialized Skill would also allow me to touch on ways to improve all forms of recovery, even the esoteric. Healing, biologically speaking, took energy. I had to imagine that, short of consuming a ludicrous amount of calories, the energy used by the Skill would be mana. It raised the question of how the Skill would then also help me recover mana, but I could figure that out later. I confirmed my selection.
You have chosen Recovery as one of your Advancement Skills.
The System screen flickered out of existence as the mana within my core whipped into a maelstrom, nearly knocking me off my feet. Waves of blue energy began to pour into the Perseverance seedling, prompting a final surge of growth. The tip of the trunk began to split as it grew, the sound of splintering crystal giving way to tremors with every pulse of the root system. I felt power in each part of the divide - each branch - begin to condense, forming a physical representation of my two new Skills. The emerald leaves growing from Recovery were vibrant, their crystalline structure positively brimming with life. The leaves growing from Taming [Dog] were clear and incomplete, as if they were cut cleanly in half by a vertical slice.
Where Perseverance met the two new Skills, their energies intermingled. Mana from the roots traveled up to the topmost branches of the now-sapling where it diffused into the air, only to settle back to the earth, be absorbed by the roots, and repeat the process. As the roiling mana began to settle, the noise began to dim, and soon peace returned to my core space. The tree representing my Skills-
A Skill tree… You know what? Fuck it. Sure.
My Skill tree stood, strong and healthy as it cycled the energy in my core, each pulse now measured and stable. It was… enchanting, like something out of a fable. It was the kind of thing she would have loved…
As if sensing my condition, Perseverance gently glowed, sending a small surge of mana up through Recovery and into the air. It… helped. With Advancement over, I felt my presence in the core space start to fade, no longer supported by the System.
“Grow strong, you lot,” I called out to the Skills in English, savoring the sensation of the language I dare not utter in the outside world. “One day, you’ll have to support the Unnamed Skill, and then…” It had been years since I let myself get so hopeful, years trapped in a body that never quite felt like my own even as I grew increasingly accustomed to it. After experiencing such a surge of progress, I had to believe my goals weren’t impossible. I had to. “And then, we’re going home!”
My legs disappeared from under me. Literally. As I faded into unconsciousness so too did my temporary body fade away. When I awoke, I’d be one step closer to a way back to my Earth. In the moments before my lips turned to nothing, I smiled.
Comments
Jacob Ogundare
I wonder if recovery is just for will to use on himself or if he can use it on other ppl like jusep( justice for my mans)
Toknightly
I came over due to the recommendation from bog standard. This is a great start to what looks to be a top tier series. I binged the whole thing and found it incredible. Thank you for the great meal.
