Chapter 105 - Knowing the Odds
“Hildegard?”
“Yes, dear?”
“You talked about ‘effective’ Skill levels being higher than the actual ones before,” Malwine noted as naturally as she could manage. She might have grown to appreciate the woman as a legitimately good teacher, but trust was still a distant concept. “How does that work?”
The butler took her time before answering. “What the system considers for most things isn’t necessarily your Skill’s level—it considers the effective level, after any effects that apply to it. In most cases, you’d use a tonic or another item to get a temporary boost. Depending on its quality, it could be anything from an extra level to a couple.”
Malwine nodded. “But they’re all only temporary?”
“I believe there are Traits that can serve a similar function permanently, but if they are of low rarity, they amount to little more than a waste of a Trait slot.”
She sincerely doubted that—at least for what she had in mind.
As much as she’d told herself she would slowly check each Skill, the revelation brought forth by [Implacable] had sidetracked her plans. Malwine had been waiting for the chance to ask Hildegard for confirmation on that one detail, and now that she’d gotten it, she could hardly contain her excitement for the rest of the lesson.
Certainly, her new Forgery Skills meant a lot of new opportunities would be available for her, once she figured out how to actually edit the underlying mechanisms she was simply examining right now, but the knowledge that Skills and the elements attached to them could be behind Status Effects gave her an idea that superseded most of it.
[Enforced Longevity] had a level test, both to determine its effects and the duration of the former. Specifically, it did indeed test for an effective Skill level, as Hildegard said most things would. That led her thoughts to their natural conclusion.
If she started piling effective levels on [Enforced Longevity], how much could the Curse be pushed back? Of course, she’d still need to level the Skill, but a far-off 50% reduction to the penalty was no longer the ceiling there.
Not to mention, that only applied as far as that specific Skill was concerned—but it was a start.
Before she actually tried what she had in mind, Malwine refocused on the Skill, examining the whole of it once again. She needed the assurance that she was right about this.
| [Enforced Longevity] <Skill, Soul, Legendary> |
| Any severe or lethal threat to your safety—be that encompassing your body, your mind, your soul, what you hold dear, or all that—will trigger an immediate bonus to all your defensive capabilities. This effect will be greatly enhanced should you actively recognize the threat. You may mitigate negative Status Effects by a value determined by your current Skill level, for as many seconds as said Skill level, at the cost of accruing [Toll]. Any and all Roots you have planted become capable of sharing power, regardless of Affinity compatibility. Your [Toll] may endure a small amount of overflow to be determined by the combined value of your defensive attributes. All Acclimations, regardless of visibility, become easier to progress and will have their effectiveness enhanced. The life extension your core stage provides you will be doubled at all stages. Should you die, time until dissolution for your obit will be doubled. Interdependent to <Body> attributes. Interdependent to <Mind> attributes. Interdependent to <Word> attributes.
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| Trait: None |
| Aspect: None |