The World Which Is

I do my best to hide the limp. That last landing wasn’t my greatest and now I have to deal with a sprained ankle debuff. That marked the end of my almost four hours of practicing running up the wall. That last stumble I can attribute to being tired; there’s only so much the occasional break can do to recharge my stamina. Fortunately, that tumble was only a few meters up, so nothing that severe.

Base will give me a healing bar when I ask, but I figure this is a good reminder not to overexert myself.

“You sure no one’s going to walk in on me?” I ask as the command center comes into view.

“You don’t have to do that there. I can make a terminal anywhere you need. If you’re that worried, I can make you a room no one will be able to enter.”

“That wouldn’t be right.”

“That…wouldn’t actually matter.”

“I’d still prefer doing it there.” I don’t know how to explain it to him. I figure he just doesn’t think like we do, being a structure instead of a living person. Skills are bought at a shop or at a settlement node. I’m not going to risk the general store by the gate because anyone there will know about me and being grounded and report to my dad anything they think is suspicious, like where did I get the money to afford buying skills?

“But yes. The commander’s busy with the mayor, and no one else is scheduled to make use of my node until Josie’s ceremony.”

I’m curious what specific class she’ll take. Being a guard doesn’t mean we all take the exact same class.

This time, the control room is semi-circular, with a lot of screens and panels. There are even pairs of disks things on the face of some spinning in unison. Not all of it ‘works’. Unlike with the machines that let Base make stuff, when it comes to managerial work, it’s all within him. He just likes sprucing up the room with things he knows. If I ask, he’ll tell me what everything is, or at least was, back when they worked for real.

I sit in front of the console and bring up the skill shop.

At the top is my money. Ten thousand two hundred and thirty-seven dollars.

I should be able to get four skills with that, maybe five.

I bring up tumbling.

Tumbling

The ability to use not landing on your legs to minimize the damage taken from a fall.

You do not have the skill, do you wish to purchase it? You do not have skill points available.

Do you wish to spend $2197 to buy it? Yes/No

Yes

You have gained the skill Tumbling, You are level 1

You have $8040 available

Raising my climbing would be the next best thing, but just like spending skill points on raising a skill, spending money doesn’t make sense, except in the most dire of circumstances.

Next is learning archery.

I never considered it before, but running up the wall made me realize that I have an easy way to gain range on the enemy. There might be a thrill and bragging that comes with facing the monsters and taking them up close, but the goal is to end the attack wave, not make myself famous.

And there’s something to be said about having shot down more monsters and anyone else.

Archery

The ability to use a bow and arrow to take down your opponents at a distance

You do not have the skill, do you wish to purchase it? You do not have skill points available.

Do you wish to spend $2197 to buy it? Yes/No

Yes

You have gained the skill Archery. You are level 1

You have $5843 available

Once I’ve trained it up, I might be able to claim the title of best archer.

I go back to the category list. The next skill is—

“Can I make a suggestion?” Base says.

“Sure.”

The screen next to mine flickers to life with a system query.

System Query: Skill: Quick nocking

The skill that allows you to quickly take an arrow from your quiver and nock it to your bow so you can shoot it

“Being fast on the draw helps with taking down more monsters,” Base says.

“Good point.”

Quick Nocking

The ability to quickly take an arrow from your quiver and nock it to your bow so you can shoot it

You do not have the skill, do you wish to purchase it? You do not have skill points available.

Do you wish to spend $2197 to buy it? Yes/No

Yes

You have gained the skill Quick Nocking. You are level 1

You have $3646 available

“Can I make another suggestion?”

“Sure,” I reply with a slight hesitation.

“Don’t spend that money yet.”

“I should get Tactic as a skill if I’m going to be efficient in battle.”

“If you’re going to fight on your own, sure, but you are planning on being part of the town guards, right? That means you’re going to be part of a unit. Strategy and tactics will be someone else’s job.”

“What should I take instead?”

“You should wait until you’ve been in your first battle. See what’s missing for how you end up fighting.”

“It’s not like I’m going to be able to buy that skill right then and there.”

“But you’re going to have the money to buy it when you come back from that fight, instead of having to spend the hours training to unlock the skill.”

“I’m going to have points by then.”

“You hope you will. You don’t have a guard class, Dennis. You’re not going to get as much from the battles as the others. As an explorer, you won’t get much from your class quests unless you’re willing to leave Court for the time needed to complete them. You need to make sure you build a buffer so you can get those skills you need as you realize you need them.”

He’s right. It’s why I hated throwing my available points in willpower, even if I’m pretty sure they’re the reason I pulled through.

It does suck to be reminded that unless I do something drastic, I’m always going to lag the others.

Which means.

I stand. “Thanks for the help. Is Grandmother within your walls?”

“She’s by the training field, teaching.” A bar forms on the board.

I take it and start eating. It’s daytime; where else would she be? I don’t think she does anything other than train us.

* * * * *

“Don’t hold your sword like that, Alex; it’s not a club.” Her voice is even, like it always is. “Lucy, this isn’t flirting. It’s taking your opponent down. Josie, fight with her. Henry can face off against Mark; that way you all get a decent fight.” I’ve never heard her raise her voice, and system knows some of us have given her reasons to scream, the way we don’t always take the training seriously.

“I don’t think this class will do much for you,” she says without looking over her shoulder. “You’d be better practicing against the guards now that you have a class.”

No judgment, just like she never raises her voice. She doesn’t care what my class is, what anyone’s class is. She’ll give us the best advice for what we want to accomplish.

“Dad won’t let me.”

“Your father can be stubborn.” She steps between sword swings as if they aren’t there and takes hold of the arm, adjusting the fingers on the pommel, then steps out of the training field.

“Could you…” I falter. How much am I going to have to explain once she sees what I can do? I mean, I don’t have to show her the wall running, but she’s going to get through my defenses and hit me. She’s seen me take enough hits here that she knows how I should react. I have no idea if I can fake the pain when I don’t feel it as much, or at all, considering these will be training weapons. Or why I want her to find me an archery teacher.

“I’m not a mind reader, Dennis. Samuel, posture. You can’t put the proper strength behind your strike if you aren’t standing correctly.”

What’s the worse dad’s going to do if she tells him? Ground me for two eternities?

“Could you train me?”

“Of course.”

“No, I’m serious, I know that…”

“Now that you’re over the surprise,” she says, “do you intend to stay with the broad sword you were training before, or do you think something different will be more useful for your new circumstances. Farming tools can get in the way, even when pulling your sword from your inventory.” Again, she walks between the fighters, until she’s next to Samuel. A hand at his neck, and lower back, foot to widen his stance and, probably, some quiet words of encouraging chastising for not taking his training seriously.

She watches me as she returns, still avoiding being hit as she steps between opponents. That’s what an incredibly high level in your class and skills lets you do.

“I’m sticking with the broadsword, and… do you know anyone who could teach me archery?”

“Francis Maltese teaches the town’s archers. I can speak with him, see if he has to time to unlock the skill.”

“I already…” Her raised eyebrow is the only indication I might have gotten myself in trouble. I just got my class. Shouldn’t I have spent the few points I gained with it toward class skills?

“You know your father isn’t going to be pleased.”

I snort. “Short of willingly chaining myself to his carpentry bench. Nothing I can do will make him happy.”

“So you haven’t told him your plans?”

“He’s known I wanted to be a guard since I was seven.”

“But you don’t have a class relating to that. He’s looking for one of the farms to take you on.”

“I didn’t ask him to do that. He just doesn’t listen when I try to tell him.”

“So you have tried.”

“Of course.”

“Then I’ll speak with Francis. If he doesn’t have to unlock the skill, getting you to a useful level should only be a matter of a few hours each day for a few weeks.”

“Can you… speak with dad?”

“I’m sorry, Dennis. That is between you and your father. I learned well before the system arrived not to step between relatives. Even when they are related to me.” She’s on the training field before I can think of a counter.

Josie catches my eye and smiles. She raises two fingers. Two days until she gets her class. Two days until she’s officially a guard.

Two days to get dad to listen to me so I can tell her that I’ll actually be a guard too and not some farmer playing at it.