Cinnamon Bun

Chapter Five Hundred and Fifty-Nine - Upskill

I stared at Mister Menu for so long that I worried the poor thing might actually be getting annoyed.

Desiree and I were probably overdue to return to the Beaver, but I really wanted to push some of my skills forward. "Hey," I said.

"Yes?" Desiree replied. She was nibbling away at a pastry. It was a Pyrowalkian speciality, a sort of square of sweeter bread with jam atop it, covered in a layer of thin wafers of crunchy bread which was in turn covered in a sort of powdered sugar. She was breaking off bits of the bread and dipping it in the jam in the centre.

"Um, is there anything bad that can happen if you level up too many skills at once?" I asked.

Desiree blinked, then she tilted her head, considering the question. "No, I don't believe so. The World avoids manifesting harmful system aspects. That being said, I suppose that there are some skills that require time and practice to adapt to, and of course, evolutions are an entirely different matter. Progressing from one tail to two is wholly disorienting."

I nodded along, very aware of the long, floppity ears atop my head. Yeah, gaining limbs, or anything poky, was a bit of an adaptation.

"Hmm... Okay, in that case, I think I'll see if I can't level a few skills. Captaining and Friendmaking, Social Butterfly and Hugging Proficiency?"

"Four at once?" Desiree asked. "Such daring!"

"I think it might be worthwhile," I said with a nod. "I guess I'll start with the more General skills." That seemed like a bit less of a risk. "Mister Menu, could you be a dear and show me Captaining?"

Mister Menu flickered away and returned, showing me the screen for the Captaining skill.

Captaining
Rank C - 100%
The ability to lead and take charge through smooth sailing and rough patches. You have a magical awareness of your ship and crew.

Hmm, that magical awareness hadn't really come up all that often, had it? I glanced over in the general direction of the Beaver Cleaver and... yeah, I knew it was about over there and that my friends were that way too.

"Okay, here' goes," I muttered. "Mister Menu, two points into Captaining, please! Let's get that up to Rank B!"

A new screen popped up, Mister Menu displaying a nice little congratulatory message, then under that, the new information for Captaining.

Congratulations! Captaining is now Rank B!

Captaining
Rank B - 00%
The ability to lead and take charge through smooth sailing and rough patches. You have a magical bond with your ship and crew.

It took a moment for me to sense the difference, but it was definitely there. Up until now, my awareness of the ship had been faint enough to ignore. Now, it was stronger, clearer. It felt a bit like a pinch in my tummy, and for a moment I was worried that I had cramps, but no, it was different. "Oh!" I said.

It was pain. Not very strong pain, more like a phantom pain?

Once, when I was a younger me, I had a big, really nasty toothache. It hurt a bunch, and it was really not fair because I brushed my teeth every day and didn't eat very many candies, but it happened anyway.

My parents had brought me to the dentist, and even through it was a little scary, the dentist had been nice and kind and had drilled out whatever was making my tooth hurt and filled it all in. I vaguely recalled the feeling that night, like the pain was still there, even if it really wasn't anymore.

What I felt now was similar. Was it the damage that that Beaver had taken? The bolt through the deck and the dozen or so holes punched into the balloon? That was... interesting.

"Do you need a washroom?" Desiree asked.

"No, I'm okay, just a weird cramp."

She blinked. "There are spells for that which every young woman ought to know."

"There are? Wait, no, I mean... my skill levelled up, and now I've got a sort of phantom feel for the Beaver. It's interesting. Ah, but the ship was damaged a little, so it feels like it hurts, but it also doesn't?"

"That must be a strange sensation, then."

"Yeah, I'm not sure I like it much. But if Awen is fixing up the Beaver then I'm sure it'll pass!"

Since Captaining's change wasn't all that bad, I decided to focus on the next skill that I wanted to raise. That was Friendmaking.

Of all those that I was looking at, this was the one that I was most worried about.

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Currently, Friendmaking let me see what a person's hopes and dreams were, and what they were looking for in a friend, and that was all good and useful! The problem was that I was a bit worried about what the skill might do with even a minor upgrade.

"Mister Menu, I'm thinking about upgrading Friendmaking, but... only if it'll help me make friends honestly. I don't want anything that's unfair, or like... changes how people see me. That wouldn't be a real friendship then, would it?"

Desiree blinked. "Isn't that the same as merely putting one's best foot forward and combing their tail before a meeting?"

"I think there's a difference," I said. "I'm not a philosopher, to really know, but I feel like trying your best to be friendly is one thing, and having magic that cheats at it for you is another. I don't know."

"Well, you've asked... Mister Menu, whom I am presuming is a personification of the system and therefore the World, not to give you anything of the sort," Desiree said.

"Does the World listen?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I've heard that it does, but I was never witness to anything too convincing in that regard. But I can't imagine that you could do more than that."

"I guess," I replied. "Let's see what that does, right Mister Menu?"

Congratulations! Friendmaking is now Rank B!

Friendmaking
Rank B - 00%
The ability to make friends! When asking someone to join you in forming a bond of friendship, you may know their desires and the qualities they look for. By pushing some magic into the skill, you may know more, such as their insecurities and the quiet barriers that keep them from opening up.

"Oh!" I said, then I clapped and tried to grab Mister Menu for a hug, but he darted up and out of reach.

"Did the skill improve?" Desiree asked.

"Uh-huh!" I replied. "Quite a bit, too! Now I can use magic with the skill, and it tells me a little more."

"Well, that's certainly interesting. And it doesn't do as you feared, manipulating others and the like?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so! This is pretty nice, actually. Do you mind if I try it on you?"

"I don't mind at all," Desiree said. She sat back in her seat and straightened herself up. It didn't help her very much, she was still quite a bit shorter than me, especially sitting down with one of her tails wrapped around onto her lap.

"Hi! Would you like to be my friend?"

Desiree Chartreuse
Desired Quality: Someone kind and fun to be with.
Dream: To gain many tails and return home a hero.

"Certainly!" Desiree replied. "Did that do anything?"

"I think so. The information's all the same, at least... from what I recall. It tells me your dream and what you want from a friend."

"Interesting," she said. "And no more?"

"Ah, the new version requires that I pump some mana into the skill first. Can I try again?" At her nod, I charged mana into the skill as I spoke: "Would you like to be my friend?"

Desiree Chartreuse
Desired Quality: Someone kind and fun to be with.
Dream: To gain many tails and return home a hero.
Insecurities: Worried that she lacks the strength to live up to her own standards, and worries that others respect her more for her persona than for her true self. Worried that some might discover her true self. Craves recognition and admiration.
Barrier to friendship: None, you are friends already.

"Oh, that's a lot more information," I said. Then I scooted out of my chair, went around the table, and folded down onto Desiree, giving her a big hug. "And your worries are very silly."

"They are?" she asked. "I'll admit I'm not certain at the moment what my worries even are."

"Well, it says that you're worried that you're not strong enough, and that people don't like you for who you are, and that's silly, because you're my friend, so of course I like you for whomever you wanna be."

I gave her a squeeze, just in case.

She shuddered for a second, then I felt her muscles unwind a notch. "...Thank you," she mumbled. Then she laughed, and her big fluffy tails wrapped around me, soft fur pulling me closer.

She shuddered for a second, then I felt her muscles unwind a notch. "... Thank you," she mumbled.

It felt like some kind of weight had fallen away from her.

I think I was gonna get along just fine with this new version of Friendmaking.

***