Chapter 17: [Attribute Allocation Available!]
As Lindsay did something or other on her tablet, Jack took a little mental retreat inward to check out his class and any pertinent information. The first thing he saw was a kind of ‘stat line.’
Whoa. This is a lot to take in. Aquatic Adaptation. Quallakuloth did some extra shit, right? Don’t even think Neex knew about it.
He felt slightly anxious about that, but he’d been assured that his appearance would not drastically change. He was more immediately drawn to the red-colored, slowly flashing ‘ALLOCATION AVAILABLE’ indicator, for obvious reasons.
Jack winced and rubbed his neck at the personal address. It had to be Memoria.
Just call me Mr. Can-Do! Calibration. Interesting. I guess that’s something I have to learn to do pronto to avoid Emotional Damage. Alright, time to see the full rub about this little thing called Allotment.
Holy shit, we’re in a big, giant war of acquisition. Huh. Maybe it's no different than life in general. Survival of the fittest.
Jack decided to comment and clarify a bit on it to Lindsay. “Alright, so, support types can uh, level up, by helping on the sidelines, if I’m reading all this right?”
Lindsay looked up from her tablet to nod. “That’s right. A screwed-up but functioning system, where the front-line champions level up faster and yet die more, while supports slowly survive and build up. But at least they make the up-and-comers have a fighting chance when they replace the dead.”
“Yeah, you’re right — that’s pretty fragged up. So is this what happened with Stitcher? Unless that’s classified.”
“Eh, she’s not very classified at all. Kind of a favorite story of success for Central. She actually started out as a short-range to medium killer Controller assassin with the handle Ripper, but this was brief before she hit some awesome, transformative secondary mutation and was practically forced out of covert ops. Thankfully, she saw reason and embraced it to become an incredible healer and support.
“She’s saved the lives of probably thousands. She did eventually level up on the sidelines, though she was more than capable of handling herself in combat. The sudden saving ambushes of Doctor Stitcher out of complete nowhere are legendary. But now she does modifications and research on a scale that saves people without risk. She’s, uh… pretty old. No one would let her risk herself directly anymore, even if she wanted to. She was a friend of Chromey.”
“You’re kidding. She ran with him, too? Fought with him?”
“That’s right! It’s just not too public compared to her overwhelmingly more well-known specialties for the last few decades.”
“From Ripper to Stitcher. Ha! Bet she has some stories. She doesn’t happen to teach Controller Class or something, does she?”
“If only teaching were that simple. Needing specific tutors is almost always necessary for powers, Jack. And yes, she does lectures on… uh… Analytical Genetic Engineering? I’m probably missing six or seven other words to what it actually is.”
“Well, poo.”
Lindsay’s lips twisted as she studied him, her eyes finally squinting. “Weeell, if you really want to meet her for pointers, advice, and such, at some point, I feel like that has potential to happen.”
“Really? I’d love to! I think. Wait — what’s with the look in your eyes? Is there a complication?”
“Weeell, it is quite a favor, after all, and it would take some effort, so I would need to keep my strength up with good fuel… Hmm, perhaps one of your two oversized steaks for tomorrow would do the trick?”
Jack sighed and shook his head incredulously at her. “Here I was, thinking it was some juicy intrigue, but nope, it's just Lindsay’s bottomless appetite for juicy food. Don’t you already owe me?”
She winced and smiled sweetly at once, her eyebrows raised expectantly.
She must’ve noted a subtle tone of defeat already in my voice. She’s ruthless. Like Mother, like daughter.
Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head again, but replied, “Fine! You can have a steak. I can’t pass up advice from a legend, that’s for sure. If she even has time for that, anyway.”
Lindsay had her lips pursed, obviously pleased with herself but containing any celebration. “Most of your information — and likely all — is going to be within her clearance, and boy will she find it interesting! Once it's pointed out to her, that is.”
“Are you talking about” — despite that they were alone, his eyes flickered around — “Neex? And that sort of stuff?”
“Neex and your connection, yes. That’s new territory. A lot of people will be interested. Hey, if you can make her a connection, it’s a fantastic one to have. Priceless, even.”
The little smirk on her face was a clue. Jack snorted. “A priceless meal for a chance at a priceless contact. Cute.”
“Cute is what I do!”
“Alright… cutely give me some advice on this allocation I have, would you? Tertiary attributes.”
Lindsay posed with her elbows propping her chin up on the flattened tops of her hands, head sideways with her eyes cast upward, as she smiled widely and oh so sweetly. And damn her, it was cute.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
She probably practices that shit on camera.
In a cheery voice, she presentationally intoned, “The principal purpose of tertiary attributes is considered to be less their direct application and more their influence on creating unique secondary mutations! If you choose to focus on Augment, you’ll probably get some sort of material reinforcement mutations. If you choose Transmute… well, it could be a lot of things! Alchemy-type stuff, perhaps — changing metals. Other novel things. You might consider it something of a dice toss!”
She shifted her hands to hold a finger up. “Unless! You have a handle on what you’re likely to get. At this stage, you probably can’t. But all selections should be considered to ‘steer’ and direct your evolution a certain way. Pick what you want to see more of or what you would like to build on, twist, and combine with ideas and imaginations of the future. It’s easier to become what you want if you move toward it early.”
Jack was rubbing his chin. “Huh. Alright. Awesome. And what about the others? Interpret and Destroy.”
“Well, it’s just that your particular powerset seems to interact less with those. Because it modifies the core noun. It would be ‘Interpret Metal,’ ‘Destroy Metal.’ Destroy isn’t terrible by any means — it could have its uses. But allocating toward it in lieu of the others? I don’t know about that.”
“Modifies the core noun… right. Okay. Got it.”
Lindsay laughed. “It’s still hard to look at you and remember you know absolutely nothing about these powers. Someone of your apparent age would be quite the wily vet by now. Junior Agents that haven’t even graduated high school could teach you things.”
“Gee, thanks. I feel old now. I’m not old!”
Lindsay shrugged. “Well, technically, you appear in your prime, right? Once you tighten up the physique.”
“Whatever you say, Taskmistress. Want me to drop and give you twenty right now?”
“Yes.”
Jack just frowned and maintained a glare. Lindsay raised her eyebrows expectantly. Cooly. But then Jack widened his eyes suddenly and comically. She couldn’t hold it at that point and finally uncontrollably snorted, then cracked a smile. Jack took a moment to internally congratulate himself on the small, petty victory, ever confident in his ability to ‘goof face’ people.
Lindsay cleared her throat. “You’ll want to know the basic allocation structure. Your primary, governing attribute increases precisely with your overall level and Allotment, and can go higher, often in fractions. You get a free one-point-zero allocation every full level to other attributes, but can’t allocate it to the same place twice. You can also allocate to your primary on levels in multiples of five. Most do, but as a Controller, you’ll probably be giving up a little Control, which is important, so it’s something to consider.”
Jack took a deep breath and nodded. “Before I ask anything more, I should probably look at the attribute descriptions.”
“Yes! Check out your Acid Tea. There are notes particular to your class there.”
“Wait, what? Acid Tea?”
“The acronym of the attributes, dude! Spells ACID T. But with two ‘C’s,’ instead.”
“That’s incredibly lame.”
“True, but there’s no hope for us. You’ll be using it, too.”
“I hate that I know you’re right.”
“Accid Tea, it does a body good — but don’t spill it! Oh, and did you peruse your finer class details yet? That’s not shown, or maybe doesn’t exist, until a class selection is locked in.”
“Whoops. Nope, not yet. There’s a lot to check. I’ll do that, too. Right after I have some” — he sighed long and defeatedly — “Accid Tea.”
Yeeeeesh. This is going to be tough. Welp. Better check out those ‘details’ on the Shaper of Metal entry.
Jack had to try hard not to fog over as he perused the math and figures — probably because he was dog-ass tired and mentally exhausted. He knew he’d ask about more eventually, but he felt like he needed to focus on the attribute choice.
I can at least tell that Control is mondo important. No surprise, as a Controller.
“So,” Jack asked as he stifled a yawn, “are there other ways of increasing Accid Tea values? Control is looking sexy.”
Lindsay nodded. “Yes. You’ll inevitably have attribute options in secondary mutations. Guaranteed every level in multiples of three, as part of a package with a novel mutation. Generally, these are secondary and tertiary attributes, but the thing is, you might not be able to pass on the novel functions of a mutation just to secure an attribute, so it’s difficult to depend on that. I’m almost one hundred percent sure you’ll get options for Control, though. You just might be gnashing your teeth and passing on something else you want in order to get it. Hard to say.”
“Alright. Noted. Hmm. What about training?”
“Through specialized techniques. What we like to call ‘Stunts.’ When you train to do something better, the System is continuously grading you, and eventually you see a specialized entry related to it. Maybe you train spinning a blade around. Once you get good enough, you’ll see a result like ‘Spinning Blade 0.2’ governed by an attribute. Not as a reward, either, just a reflection of the new reality. No trance required! Instead of spinning a blade at 2.0, you’re spinning it at 2.2. Once you get the basics down, that is. You’re a babe, so in reality, you’re more like 0.1 in everything.”
“Hey, I got improved instantly, I’ll have you know. I’d be dead without the edge it gave me in those deadly fights.”
“True, you do have passive boosts already, and it’ll only get better as your body kicks it into high gear with the new and improved factory inside. But don’t get complacent! Work super hard. Set some records for how quickly you are mission-ready. Make me proud!”
Jack saluted. “You got it, coach. Anyway, good to know about the Stunts. I can fill in the gap with that super hard work angle.”
“Exactly! A great thing about being a Magnitude-based type is you can fill in that gap. For most powersets, filling in Magnitude is a dubious enterprise.”
“You can’t teach height.”
“What?”
“Nothing. I think I get the picture. So, if I’m Magnitude-based, and I’m gym-maxing on the lifting and… grabby aspects, I take it I’m good at disabling primary targets?”
“Nail on the head, champ. Your default Controller, with their primary on Control, is all precision with sacrifices in power and Magnitude. They could annoy or maybe be like a debuff to powerhouses, while being exceptional at dealing with softer or more evasive targets. You’re the opposite. Though you don’t have the pure overwhelming Force of a Blaster or Bruiser, you can potentially disable a tank or a heavy hitter. The only issue is that by focusing on offense, if you’re pushing to your limits, you’ll be vulnerable to anyone else.”
“A tactician’s class. Flexibility and power, but mistakes are costly.”
“That’s right, yes. Which suits you.”
“Do you have any further advice on the attribute choice?”
Lindsay smirked sardonically as she propped her chin on a fist and studied him for a moment. “I want you to think beyond your natural tendency to strategize the direct, logical, optimal path. Doing this is the actual edge in the long run, Jack. Choosing based on what you want to do. Who you want to be. Just like you made your powerset choice. I’ve seen people make a line of optimal present choices — in the rashness of their youth — right into Hindsight Twenty-Twenty misery. And they’re stuck. Like everything else in life, there’s no going back.”
Jack squinted at her. “Spitting some wisdom here. Just how old are you?”
Her face was impassive. “Isn’t it impolite to ask a lady her age?”
“I guess it depends on the lady. If I’m impolite, I do retract and apologize.”
“And what sort of lady do you think I am, then?”
“The kind that might be serious or might just be teasing me again.”
“And if you had to pick one?”
“The latter.”
After a long, blank stare, she finally grinned. “Well, you’re right. I’m twenty-eight.”
“Does my file say I like to be teased or something?”
“No comment.”
FYI, he does pretty much exhaustively check the stuff in his bio later on. A few things get added after being introduced/assessed.
(in Comments - might need to scroll on mobile):
Which unread ability are you most curious about (pick two if split)?
