Chapter 8-13
“Oh tremendous PAST, I most humbly ask, why do you not grant your eager servants more Quests?”
[THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE – FREEDOM!]
“I… that is, your devoted servant fails to understand, great PAST!”
[IS FREEDOM NOT THE CARDINAL VIRTUE OF AMERICA, GREATEST OF NATIONS?!]
“YES! You speak truth! Yet… I confess I remain confused.”
[HYPOTHETICALLY, IF I ISSUED YOU A QUEST EVERY DAY, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?!]
“I would complete them all, of course! No true Paladin could do less!”
[WOULD YOU NOT THEN BE LIVING A LIFE IN CHAINS?!]
“Uh…”
- Lazlo Smith, Level 31 Patriotic Paladin, Fireside Chats with PAST
I found myself sitting on my bed that night, wondering what to do with myself. I’d practiced my Spells until I ran out of focus – not the resource, just the actual ability to concentrate. It was still early enough that I wasn’t ready to sleep, but I also didn’t feel like being social.
I finally decided to review my Skills. I’d gotten some notifications about those I’d only glanced at, at the end of the dungeon. I Inspected myself, focusing only on my Skills. The list was getting long and imbalanced.
I concentrated on the display and willed it to change. It adjusted in front of me, and I played around with a few versions. First I tried separating the Skills into more categories.
Hmm, I like this better, but Battle Focus and Intimidate don’t really fit with the others. What about separating those out? The end of the list changed.
Yeah, that’s more accurate. It’s not like anyone else can see how I’ve got these organized, anyway.
I contemplated for a moment and then decided to be all mature about it and put them back under General Skills. Nothing happened.
[You have used up your allotment of free Status customizations, Citizen Ashley! Would you like to unlock further customization for the low price of five eagles?!]
“Are you serious right now, PAST?!” I asked in exasperation.
[It is not April Fool’s Day, Gunner! Therefore you may reliably assume that I am serious!]
I punched my pillow in frustration. “What happens when I learn a new Skill then?”
[It will be automatically placed into one of the categories based on your assessment of the Skill, Gunner!]
“Huh… Hey, I remember someone saying once that you could ask the System to show other things on your Skills, like Squad Comms, even though there’s no way to Level that. Is that right?”
[That is correct, Gunner! Would you like me to add Squad Comms to your Skills list?!]
“No, but how about talking to you? I think ‘System Comms’ would be a good name for a Skill, right?”
[An excellent idea, Citizen! I will add it to your list now! Try checking your Skills again!]
Inspect.
I laughed so hard that I might have cried a little. PAST was suspiciously silent throughout, that jerk. Feeling better after getting even with him, I Inspected my active Skills that had reached Level 5. Passive Skills didn’t normally change much with Levels, but Active and Triggered Skills would typically get some kind of enhancement – small or large – every five Levels. I focused just on what had changed about each Skill, and surprisingly it worked – without PAST asking for money.