Chapter Four Hundred and Seventy-Nine - List Your Strengths

"Hi!" I said as I stepped into the room.

It wasn't a room that I hadn't been in before, but it had been... well, at least a week or two since I visited. There weren't that many changes. The bookshelf against one wall had a couple more books stuffed into it, and there was maybe an extra pillow or two on the bed itself.

It was strange, but this room didn't feel super... Amaryllis-y.

Awen's room felt like Awen's room, because there were tools and trinkets and all sorts of stuff all over the place. Caprica's room was very neat and tidy, her bed was always done so well that I could have bounced a gold coin off the sheets, and her clothing and gear was stored just so.

But Amaryllis' place was just... a smidge messy, but not dirty. There was a feather on the floor, and that's about all there was to show that it was hers. Maybe the books could help, since they were all books about magic and such, but that was it.

Strange. But then again... I guessed that Amaryllis wasn't the kind of girl that needed a space to herself. She didn't seem to care as much about things like that.

"What are you doing here?" Amaryllis asked. She was in the midst of packing some things in a small chest. A set of nib-sharpeners from the Snowlands, some bottles of blue ink from Inkwren, tiny knick knacks I didn't recognize. Little things that we'd picked up as we went around.

"I need help," I said with a serious nod.

"Oh?" Amaryllis asked. "What kind of trouble did you land yourself in now?"

"Hey! I'm not in trouble... um, I don't think. I have questions about skills and stuff, and you're my walking-talking-snarking exposition bird."

"I don't know what that is, and yet I feel like I ought to be insulted anyway," Amaryllis replied. "So, questions about skills? I'm assuming your recent level-ups have brought this about?"

I nodded. Booksie and Rhawrexdee's mission to speed-level her was working well so far. Three levels for my favourite book-bun in only two days. That was a crazy pace, especially for levels past the first ten or so.

"Yeah, I've got a heap of empty skill slots now, and they're not filling up naturally."

Amaryllis scowled. "How many are we talking here?"

"Uh, none for my Cinnamon Bun Bun class, one for my Wonderlander, and I have four open slots for my general skills."

Amaryllis stared at me. "Broccoli, how often do you forget about levels and skills?"

I pressed my fingers together and refused to meet her gaze. "Just sometimes?"

"Yes, I can see that," she snarked snarkily. She pulled out a plume from her writing kit, then a small wooden plank from a shelf. It had a dip on the top, for an inkwell, and a small clip to hold a page in place. She set it all up, then gestured towards the small desk squeezed into the corner of her room next to the porthole. "Sit," she ordered.

I sat.

Amaryllis placed the writing stuff in front of me. "Write down your skills and such, the same way they appear to you. Which, by the way, is something you should never ever do."

"You're telling me to do something I shouldn't do?" I asked. We'd done this once before, but that had been a while ago. I vaguely recalled getting the same warning then.

"That's right. Letting others know about your skills is dangerous and irresponsible. Or it can be. There are levels of complexity to this. A normal labourer probably has nothing to worry about, but any noble or highly ranked individual would do well to keep their skills and abilities to themselves. Anything else is foolhardy."

"So... I shouldn't do what you told me to?"

"Only if you don't trust me," she said.

I pouted. That was silly. Of course I trusted her. I pinched the tip of my tongue between my lips and started writing. Amaryllis crowded in above me, reading what I wrote even as I wrote it. At some point I had to stop and refocus because I was writing it all in English and Amaryllis didn't read that, so I had to think in the local language.

Amaryllis rubbed at her chin as she looked over the list. "This isn't too bad," she said. "Say what you will about your... you-ness, but you're a quick learner, Broccoli."

"That sounded a little insulting," I said.

She huffed, amused. "Maybe. Your rate of growth is impressive. In fact, all of us are growing quickly, all things considered. Dungeons are supposed to help you grow at a faster pace, as long as you're not used to a dungeon in particular, and we've probably hit more dungeons in the last three months or so than most people will see in their entire lives. That, and the constant battling and high-risk things we do contribute to relatively fast growth."

"It feels a lot slower than when I started," I said.

"Well of course it's slower. The amount of experience you need for each level grows... hmm, perhaps not exponentially but certainly not at a linear pace. Your second class is also growing quickly, and I would expect it to also slow down a great deal in a few more levels. Still, it's impressive. I have to wonder why you're asking about all of this, though."

I reached over and tapped the top of my list. "These empty slots. They're making me uncomfortable. I remember getting new skills at the drop of a hat... or sometimes when I'd put a hat on. Usually I'd have a slot open for a few hours and then I'd pick up a new skill."

"Ah," Amaryllis said. She nodded knowingly. "I think I see. No, what's going on is pretty normal. Actually, what wasn't normal was the speed at which you picked up new skills. Even those that I know you weren't too fond of."

I grumbled. I still had Adorable. It wasn't leaving, no matter what I did. Chivalry was supposed to combine with it, but it hadn't yet.

"The normal method to pick up a skill is to work on that skill, with purpose. You would find something you want, and practice it actively. As long as you do so, have a free space, and are somewhat capable at the skill, you can unlock it as a World-granted skill."

"A lot of my skills didn't work that way... I don't think. I was never actively cute."

"Uh-huh."

"Hey! Don't just agree like that. And what do you mean, uh-huh? It was a statement, not a question."

"Well, if you're going to ask for help, at least have the decency to be honest about your faults," Amaryllis said.

Was... was being cute a fault? Actually, on thinking about it, it definitely was. Being cute meant never being taken seriously. What if someone only wanted to be my friend because they thought I was small and innocent and naive? I wasn't any of those things! I was cool and sophisticated and... and Amaryllis was laughing at me. "Why are you laughing?" I asked.

"You wear your thoughts on your face, Broccoli. That wouldn't be as much of a sin if those thoughts weren't so foolhardy."

I pouted some more. "Can't you help me without making fun of me?" I whined.

"I suppose I can try. You at least made the effort to seek out the council of someone smarter, better educated, and more elegant than yourself," she said with a nod. "Now, you want help filling your free slots up?"

"Well, I was more worried that them not filling up was a problem," I said.

"It's not necessarily a problem, but it is a missed opportunity. The more time those slots remain empty, the more time passes without you sharpening an existing skill."

I nodded. That made sense. And the sooner I got all my skills the sooner I could have new skills improve.

"At the same time," Amaryllis said as she looked over the page. "You have a lot of skills that are topped up and ready to improve. And it's not like you're missing the points to put into them. A few of these could be brought up a tier with a single point spent, and they might unlock a lot of potential."

"Yeah, I'm kinda bad about that, aren't I?" I asked.

"Then stop being bad about it," she said with a shake of her head. "Here, let me grab a fresh sheet. I can think of a few general skills that you might want to practice, and you might want to ask the others on the ship about theirs too. It'll let you fill those out with useful skills to have. Then... spend your damned points, Broccoli."

***