Chương 11: Chapter 10: General applications

The laboratory door opened. Elizabeth remained crouched beneath the workstation, one hand pressed over the pocket containing the crystal fragment. Light spread across the floor in a widening strip, followed by the measured sound of footsteps. Someone entered and closed the door behind them. Elizabeth could see only polished shoes and the lower edge of a grey laboratory coat. The figure stopped beside the first row of benches, then continued towards the reagent cabinets. A key turned in a lock.

Glass clicked softly as something was removed. Elizabeth kept her breathing slow and shallow. The workstations had solid panels across the front, shielding her from anyone standing near the entrance, but the protection would disappear the moment the newcomer walked around the side. She considered her options. The laboratory possessed one main door and the assistant entrance she had used earlier. Both lay on the opposite side of the room.

The windows were sealed, and attempting to force one open would attract more attention than remaining hidden. Her only advantage was that the person did not yet know she was there. A drawer opened. The footsteps moved closer. Elizabeth lowered herself until one knee touched the floor. Her body objected immediately. Combat Foundations had left bruises along her hip and shoulder, while an entire day of lessons had exhausted muscles unused to sustained activity. The shoes stopped two workstations away.

A pale light appeared above the benches. The person was using a skill. Elizabeth risked raising her head far enough to see through the gap between the tabletop and storage shelf. A middle-aged man stood with his back towards her, holding a small sphere of white light over one palm. He wore the uniform of a laboratory assistant rather than an instructor. He examined the benches one at a time. Not searching for an intruder, Elizabeth realised. He was checking that the equipment had been returned properly.

That made discovery less likely, but it also meant he would eventually reach her workstation. She looked towards the preparation room at the rear of the laboratory. Its door stood partially open, less than four metres away. The assistant turned towards the next bench. Elizabeth moved. She kept low, crossed the narrow aisle and slipped into the preparation room before he turned again. The movement produced no obvious sound, though her pulse rose sharply enough that she could feel it in her throat.

Shelves filled most of the smaller room. Bottles, sealed containers and boxes of equipment had been arranged by category, leaving a narrow path between them. There was no second exit. Elizabeth positioned herself behind a shelf and watched through the gaps. The assistant reached her workstation. He paused beside the mana-density meter, adjusted its position and checked the calibration marker. Elizabeth had returned it to the correct place, but perhaps not the correct orientation.

He stared at the instrument for several seconds before moving on. She noted the mistake. The assistant completed his inspection, returned the light skill to wherever System skills went when inactive, and walked towards the door. Elizabeth waited after it closed. Ten seconds. Thirty. One minute. She remained hidden for five more before leaving the preparation room. The laboratory was dark again. She crossed to the side entrance and stopped beside the door.

Catching it behind an authorised user had allowed her to enter, but opening it from inside required no badge. Presumably, the academy preferred unauthorised intruders to leave rather than remain trapped among dangerous materials. Elizabeth eased it open and checked the corridor. Empty. She retraced her route through the laboratory complex, avoiding the central hall where night staff were more likely to be present. The academy grounds beyond were quiet, though lights remained visible in several towers.

The route to North House took twelve minutes. No one stopped her. Once inside her room, Elizabeth locked the door and placed the crystal fragment on her desk. Her hands had begun to tremble slightly, more from delayed tension than physical exertion. Sneaking into the laboratory had been careless. The experiment itself had been useful, but useful results did not justify avoidable exposure. If the assistant had discovered her, she might have lost laboratory access before her first practical lesson.

She entered the mistake into her Research Log alongside the measurements. The System responded before she closed the interface. Registered hypothesis reviewed. Experimental procedure completed. Novel observation recorded. Class progression threshold reached. Experimentalist has advanced to Level 1. A cold sensation passed through Elizabeth's chest. It spread more gently than the class selection had, touching her muscles and senses before settling somewhere behind her eyes. Another message followed.

Level 1 Strength: 6 Dexterity: 7 → 8 Agility: 7 Vitality: 6 Spirit: 3 MP: 45 → 49 Stat points: 0 General Skill selection unlocked. Available selections: 2 Elizabeth focused on the final line, but did not open the selection menu. She knew what General Skills were in broad terms. Lady Renwick's lessons had described them as abilities that existed outside a person's class, but the subject had been covered only briefly because unawakened children could not receive them. She could inspect the options now.

It would be more sensible to wait until the academy explained the consequences. For once, Elizabeth allowed caution to overcome curiosity. She dismissed the interface and prepared for bed. Class Development began at nine the following morning. Instructor Hale stood before the blackboard with a list of skill categories written behind him. Class Skills General Skills The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Traits Titles"Yesterday, several of you reached your first class level," he said.

"The rest will do so within the next few days. Your speed depends upon your class, your actions and whether the System considers those actions meaningful." A few students glanced at one another. Elizabeth kept her attention on Hale.

"At Level 1, every person receives two General Skill selections. These skills are not restricted to your class, though your available options are shaped by your experiences, habits and recent behaviour." He pointed towards the first heading.

"Class Skills express the nature of your class. A Fire Mage receives abilities connected to fire and mana manipulation. A Guard receives abilities connected to vigilance, protection and physical defence." His hand moved to the next line.

"General Skills are broader. Running, calculation, memory, pain tolerance, cooking, deception and hundreds of other activities can all generate suitable options." A boy near the front raised his hand.

"Can a General Skill give magic to someone without a magical class?"

"Some can provide basic magical perception or control," Hale said.

"They rarely grant complete spells. The System does not usually offer Fireball as a General Skill merely because you've stood near someone casting it." Elizabeth resisted the urge to look amused. Mechanistic Replication made that limitation less relevant to her.

"How many General Skills can we have?" another student asked.

"You receive two selections at Level 1, then another at Levels 5, 10 and every fifth level thereafter. Class advancements, titles and significant achievements can occasionally grant additional slots." Five-level intervals would make each selection important.

"Can a skill be removed?" Elizabeth asked. Hale looked towards her.

"Not easily. General Skills become integrated into the System's support of your body and mind. Removal requires a specialised class, a rare item or a dangerous System procedure."

"So we should not select immediately."

"You should not select carelessly," he corrected.

"Waiting carries its own costs. A useful General Skill begins developing only after selection." He wrote several tiers beside the headings. Common — Uncommon — Rare — Epic"General Skills also possess tiers, although most initial options are Common or Uncommon. A higher tier does not always mean a skill is more useful to you. An Epic skill for underwater breathing has limited value if you intend to spend your life in a desert." A student near the window raised her hand.

"Can General Skills evolve?"

"Yes. Repeated use, unusual applications and relevant achievements may improve a skill or cause it to evolve. The System assists actions; it does not replace the need to practise them." Hale paused before continuing.

"That distinction matters. A person with Mental Calculation can process numbers more quickly, but the skill cannot solve a formula the user does not understand." Elizabeth approved of the design. The System enhanced existing capabilities without automatically filling gaps in understanding. That made its assistance powerful without making expertise meaningless.

"What options did you receive?" a student asked the boy beside him. Hale struck the blackboard once with the end of his pointer.

"Your personal System is private. Keep it that way unless you have a reason to disclose it." The room quietened. The remainder of the lesson covered skill levels, training methods and the difference between active and passive assistance. Elizabeth recorded most of it, though she already knew which qualities she needed. At five, after completing the rest of the day's lessons, Elizabeth returned to North House.

She ate dinner, declined an invitation from two first-years to visit the common room and locked herself inside her bedroom. The General Skill menu opened when she focused upon it. General Skill selections available: 2 Options generated from personal experience, repeated behaviour and recent actions. The first option expanded. Quiet Movement Tier: Common Reduces accidental sound produced through movement. Effectiveness depends upon terrain, footwear, Agility and familiarity with the surroundings.

The laboratory incident had presumably generated that option. Elizabeth dismissed it. Avoiding detection through better planning was preferable to building a progression path around trespassing. Fine Motor Control Tier: Uncommon Improves precision during deliberate movements of the hands and fingers. Supports laboratory work, crafting, surgery, writing and other tasks requiring controlled manipulation. A strong option. It would improve almost every physical experiment she performed. She continued.

Mental Calculation Tier: Uncommon Accelerates conscious numerical calculation and reduces errors during familiar mathematical operations. Effectiveness depends upon the user's mathematical knowledge and Spirit. Elizabeth read the Spirit limitation twice. Her low Spirit might reduce the benefit, but the skill remained valuable. University-level modelling required large quantities of calculation, and she no longer possessed electronic computers or scientific software.

Mental Calculation would not replace those tools, but it could reduce the disadvantage. The next option was predictable. Mana Sensitivity Tier: Uncommon Allows the user to develop conscious awareness of nearby mana. Initial perception is limited to presence and relative intensity. Greater detail may be acquired through training, skill development and relevant affinities. This was essential. Until now, Elizabeth had studied mana almost entirely through secondary effects.

Mana Sensitivity would allow her to compare subjective perception with instrument readings and begin observing the subject directly. Her extreme spatial affinity might also influence how the skill developed. Two options remained. Composure Tier: Uncommon Assists the user in maintaining control over expression, speech and movement during stress, fear or social pressure. Useful within her family and noble society, but she had managed without it.

Selecting a skill merely to imitate obedience would waste a limited slot. The final option carried a higher tier. Clinical Focus Tier: Rare Allows the user to narrow attention around a defined procedure, observation or intellectual problem. Reduces distraction caused by fatigue, emotion and environmental interference while the focus is maintained. Extended use may reduce awareness of unrelated danger or physical needs. Elizabeth considered it carefully. The skill matched habits developed across decades of research.

It would improve her ability to conduct long procedures and analyse difficult problems, but the warning was significant. Excessive focus had already caused her to neglect sleep, food and external risk in her previous life. She had only two selections. Mana Sensitivity was non-negotiable. The choice between Mental Calculation, Fine Motor Control and Clinical Focus was less obvious. Each would support her research in a different way.

Fine Motor Control could be developed through ordinary practice, and Elizabeth's Dexterity had already increased to eight. Clinical Focus enhanced something she was naturally capable of doing, though it might become useful during more complicated experiments. Mental Calculation addressed a resource she could not easily replace. She selected it. Confirm General Skills? Mana Sensitivity — Uncommon Mental Calculation — Uncommon Selections cannot be reversed through ordinary means. Elizabeth confirmed.

A faint pressure formed behind her forehead as Mental Calculation settled into place. It did not make her feel more intelligent. Instead, numbers became easier to hold in sequence without losing earlier values. Mana Sensitivity arrived differently. The room changed. Colour gathered in places that had appeared empty only moments before. It was faint enough that Elizabeth initially mistook it for an afterimage, but it remained when she blinked. A thin haze surrounded the enchanted lamp.

Most of it was pale gold, though narrow strands of blue moved through the light and disappeared into the metal lines embedded within the walls. The colours overlapped without fully mixing, each following a slightly different path. Elizabeth turned towards the depleted crystal on her desk. A weak green light clung to its cloudy surface. The colour was nearly transparent, more suggestion than illumination, but it became clearer as she moved closer.

Fine traces drifted away from the crystal before fading into the ambient mana of the room. Air mana. At least, that was the obvious explanation. The fragment had come from an air-mana exposure chamber, but one sample was not enough to establish that green consistently represented air. Elizabeth opened her Research Log. Observation: Mana Sensitivity represents different mana sources through visible colour. She paused, then added another line.

Unconfirmed hypothesis: Mana colour corresponds to elemental type rather than source, density or System interpretation. For the first time, she was not merely measuring mana's effects. She could see it.