Once they got into the Library, they took a bit of a breather. Scootaloo helped him out of the harness and Apple Bloom stowed the sledge out of the way of the road, all while Sweetie Belle moved the rest of their training equipment inside. For his part, Spike had to close-slash-minimize-slash-hide that entire pile of alerts, as interrupting this momentum with minutia would feel wasteful. He'd check it later, anyways. As it is he took a moment to center himself, focusing on taking a few deep breaths and centering himself in the meditation practice Twilight had taught him. That evening in the lab last year felt like it was a lifetime away... Hay, this morning felt like it was a lifetime away.
He went to crack the seal on the packages full of books but was stopped by Apple Bloom.
"Naw, the boxes can sit fer now: We got plans fer those."
Spike put on his best fake-pout to try to convince Apple Bloom, or at least get her to laugh.
"Given that they're library property, shouldn't I at least get a hint?"
Thankfully, he succeeded on both counts: She had to stifle a giggle as she answered him.
"Well, ah know yer Observe trick can see through stuff, right?"
"Yeah, because of the bit bag Twilight gave me. Using it then listed the contents, and it was my first time using the skill too! So it must be way better now."
Scootaloo chimed in from across the room, where she was hoofing her way through some of the flight manuals and aerobic exercise guides on one shelf.
"Right! But like, I could tell you how many bits are in a bag just by lookin' at it. I might have to guess a little, but I could see the coins pressing on the fabric... I said the fabric..."
Sweetie sighed and threw in a quiet "Dumb fabric" for old times' sake when she realized Scootaloo wasn't going to continue until she did... Always worth another shot at the 'running gag' Cutie Mark.
"Thank you! But seriously, what about identifying the books inside that box? Not just the number of them, but the titles? What about the subjects? Could you read them? Could you use Observe on the books themselves just 'cause you're also Observing the box they're in? It's super weird! And it sounded like a really good test with no risks or sweating, so it'll be nice for during our snack break."
Apple Bloom looked anxiously towards the kitchen.
"Speakin' a snacks, how 'bout we-"
Spike remembered, in horrible clarity, Rarity's description of Sweetie's cooking from earlier.
"How about I throw some snacks together! You three can just chill out here. I need to grind on my Cooking skill anyways."
He caught a sigh of relief from AB and Scoots when he said that, while Sweetie just pouted a bit. After seeing their expressions Spike made his way to the kitchen, holding back a laugh. Snacks and drinks... And training. It wouldn't be fitting of him to take a break at this point: The natural way forward is to mix practice with preparation, just like at breakfast. With this in mind, Spike turned his eyes to the cabinets and the fridge. He would be serving for ponies as well as himself, so many of the 'special' items in the fridge were right out, as were gems.
Thinking over what they had been doing and what was available, it wasn't difficult to come to one conclusion. The hard work had been focused on him, but he wasn't the only one working hard: Refreshing drinks and light food, recovery fare, that was the ideal menu today. Start off with some citrus fruit... Oooh, they still had some of those orange slices Twilight had prepared the other night. A fun chemical experiment had dissolved the outer pith and left them with flawless crystal-clear jewels of fruit, no bitterness or stringy toughness.
Follow that up with a bit of salad (they had enough spinach and assorted lettuces to segue into some kind of joke, and he could add daisies for color), throw together a vinegary dressing with capers and lemon and a bit of spice... Pair that off with something fatty, maybe crumble up some good sharp cheddar: It was too late if he wanted to pick up fresh curds at the market. Then a drink and a sweet finisher would round it out. Come to think of it, he hadn't assembled a menu like this in a little while: Twilight hadn't been hosting many of the girls’ weekly get-togethers, and those were the only time he really got to show off his cooking chops for a whole group.
Interestingly, he earned XP for Cooking as he threw together the dressing and assembled the salads, which matched up with his earlier theory. 'Cooking' (to his power) seemed to be a broad umbrella for everything related to food prep, even if it was as simple as a salad. Just taking the already-stripped orange slices and plating them for service didn't trigger anything, so there must be a threshold. Either that or maybe something about intent... No matter how it worked, the amount of benefit he got for each action was starting to go down, and that was a more pressing concern.
Spike had settled on the idea that his enormous growth today was influenced (at least in part) by the quest he was on. That feeling was being backed up with new information as he trained and ground out new skills... It was going to get harder from here. As skills levelled up their growth slowed, hypothetical influence of his quest aside. As Observe went past 20 and up towards 25 it slowed even more. However, Spike wasn't too worried: He had spent a lot of time with the Crusaders and other ponies as they developed new skills and talents, and that gave him an educated hunch.
If his hunch was right then things would actually balance out after that, making 25 a benchmark beyond which things would be a bit easier. The theory made sense if you compared it to actual self-improvement, where there was a rough wall before you hit the plateau of achieving basic mastery. Once you knew what you were doing, getting better was easier as well (up to a point): If his power worked the same way, the experience-per-level might even end up lower after the bump.
The combination of that theory and the much more clear-cut idea that his 'first day' quest was actually boosting his growth provided him a good excuse to do what he wanted anyways: Try and get as many skills levelled as possible before the day was out. This put Spike in an experimental mindset, so he tackled making the drink for their snacks as if it were more a chemical brew than a beverage... Try to find the boundary between Cooking and Crafting, and level them both either way.
Even if he messed up as badly as possible, it couldn't actually out-catastrophe some of the food he'd been exposed to. The Baked Bads alone were a masterstroke of failure: The most his mistakes could do was kneel in their crumbly, wormy shadow.
So to start... Precise ratios, use some lab glass from the washing rack, measure syrup against seltzer with mint and ice. Crush and mix and fuse it together... The experience went into Cooking.
Alright then. Next time be more methodical, step back and look at it like assembly as opposed to mixing... Cooking. Hrm.
Well, if that failed... Spike the mix with some emeralds, hold back on the syrup a bit, focus on the tonic aspects... Crafting! Perfect.
Now he had a few drinks made up, albeit one of them only he could drink safely... But even more importantly he had a good idea what the divide was. There was a line between something you’d eat or drink under normal day-to-day circumstances, and something that was meant as a curative or palliative, something closer to medicine... That's when it shifted from Cooking to Crafting, and vice versa, was when something crossed that line.
A few extra glasses with small variations confirmed his hypothesis and provided a buff notification for the gem-laced version: [Virgin Emerald Julep], granting improved HP recovery. So now he had drinks, fruit, salad... He could grab a bit of bread or some crackers on the way out to get carbs in there. If all of that got finished off and they still needed a refresher, there were dessert fixings in the fridge. Ideally Spike had been hoping to save it for later, but there was no sense not treating friends when he had the chance.
And a treat it very clearly was: As soon as he came back out of the kitchen the usual light-hearted ribbing began, even as Spike could see the hunger in their eyes.
"Awww, food food again?"
"Hey now, that's the rule! We all voted and everything."
"Yah, plus today's looks real swell."
The Crusaders had established a rotation of sorts to cater to all of the four critical food groups: Junk food, fast food, sweets, and ‘real’ food. Apple Bloom could always be counted on to provide the pies and cakes and fritters, Sweetie had a sizable allowance to blow on takeout, and Scootaloo helped Rainbow Dash stick to training diets by 'confiscating' all of the daisy chips, cookies, hay crisps and other unhealthy food she kept 'managing to end up with'. Which left Spike as the only capable cook of them all, alone in charge of Class 4: Home-cooked meals.
"Well, here's hoping! Orange ‘gems’, salad with cheddar and capers, crackers with the leftover cheese, plus mint spritzers to drink. The one in the, heh, pebbled glass is mine by the way: Threw in some emeralds while I was experimenting."
"Niiice! Alright, let's dig in!"
Rather than try to distribute eating into all of the training they had been doing, it was a lot simpler to just take the direct route and take a real break. Time was limited, but not that badly... Plus, it turns out the food was so good that they finished it in mere minutes anyways. A quick trip back into the kitchen to rinse all the glasses and bowls, and then Spike was back in the foyer preparing himself for another bout.
Spikes getting a whole load of information on cooking there, but its teh inverse that needs teh high skill? Observe, Net which parts lead to which Buffs etc, then reverse that, so he can consider which Buffs are desired, and get at least Guides to what to try to discover actual methods and skills?
Observe is very intresting when looking at closed books or containers, as his senses, being a dragon has enhanced senses to start, like MRI scanning the Dead Sea Scrolls, varient on Hoard Perfect Placement, eventually he should be able to discern the seperation of the ink of each letter from other letters, the most difficult bit being seperating two facing pages of text from each other in his mind, to decode whats actually said?
Work on Cooking, Crafting, for Buffing others, general stable medical, health potions etc?
He should be wary of getting further roped into their shenanigans; he’s on a time limit if he wants to maximise his rewards.
10044815
thanks for the tip.
10044697
Depending on how deep learning a book that way gets and how fast he can level up his crafting he might be able to replace it before she gets back.
And something else is done
Now, there's a big question not properly answered by the story yet. Or, well... partially answered, and I'd like to call attention to it.
As you get better at something in real life, you steadily improve, and it's so fluid it's actually not all that easy to split progress into 'levels' - we rather don't unless we absolutely have to; think of 'classes' and 'certificates'... instead of 'you can now add numbers' you have 'general mathematical ability comparable to a 6yo'.
So... going by Observe, it looks like his skills only upgrade on level-ups of the skill. Meaning, he could be at 99.8% of the skill's level-up, making him almost twice as good, but still he'd only get the actual benefit all at once when he hits 100%.
Does it work that way for those long-leveling skills as well? Cooking, for instance? Does he get better every time, or does he have to wait for a level-up? This makes ability/boon distribution important! I mean, going by "level-ups", he should receive all of the boons at once (despite theoretically having progressed far enough long time ago to be able to perfom action x).
10048351
What I meant was more along the lines of what I'm writing above, here. I mean, Scoots' ability to fly (let's say she gets it) would normally progress from "barely not touching the ground" to "I can sort of hover" in a gradual, each-day-a-little-better sort of way. But now? With Spike's Gamer ability influencing her, she won't get any benefit until she finally grinds to 100%, and she'll suddenly be able to hover. See what I mean?
The way it's set up, it's sort of following both of these ideas, at the same time. I mean, he still gets bonuses at fixed points, but they're split up from a bigger whole (10% buff, 20% buff, 30%...) all the same, so the rise is actually kinda gradual. I guess I'm just pining after skills that allow you to do something really badly at first, and then let you improve as you fill out the XP meter... and once you do level them up, you get another thing you can just barely do... So that, in a sense, you know from the get-go what you're going to get, and you get a taste of it before theoretically being able to use it fully (at the next level-up).
In a sense, it's an inverted curve. At level 0 you can do X at -100%. At level 0/50% XP you can do X at -50% (vis-a-vis base), and at level 1/0% XP you can do X at +0%, and you can now do Y at -100%. From there, you could apply a /2 or /3 stacking multiplier.
In my example, I use a /2LVL multiplier* (so +1 level nets you +50%, the next one is +25%, then +12.5%... so that +3 levels in total get you +82.5%). At level 1/50% XP you could do Y at -50% and X at +25%. At this rate, it'd take you about 7 level-ups to take any skill from "I'm decidedly average with it" (+0%) to "I'm actually pretty great at it" (about +92%). Of course, beyond +10 levels, the returns would be tiny, but they'd continue to accrue automatically (and you'd still have the incentive, seeing as any particular skill would actually confer several abilities) - and I'd still throw in some preset bonuses for reaching level 25, 60, 145 (nearest 'round' values of 'previous plateau * 2.4', so 25*2.4 = 60, 60*2.4 = 144, so 145)... and so on.
And yeah, this would probably be a bitch to have to live, even if the math required is simple enough. The rewards would quickly become sparse, requiring you to work on other skills... but over time, you'd reach a point where grinding literally anything became a chore... But I have a feeling that Spike will get there soon enough anyway, even without my fancy-shmancy ideas. ;]
* interestingly, if you wanted to make a skill easier to learn, pick a value between 1 and 2; harder skills go with the base > 2
10048424
Hm, I suppose... There are as many ways to do this as there are creators out there, so I can't really argue either way.
I just hope Spike's progression doesn't slow hella down once he's out of the "honeymoon" stage. The entire fun of the Gamer ability is constantly getting shit, even if it's just titles and tiny buffs. For instance, he still hasn't touched the social part of the Game, and I can already see him getting a title like "Honorary Crusader" with +15% affinity boost w/ the CMCs, or something. Doesn't influence things directly, but it's still a nice thing to add to the ever-growing list.
10048473
We sure it’s just limited to “Friends” though? I mean if his interactions with the CMC are anything to go by, he has that start of a Harem Hoard.
10049865
True, but so far the author has yet to show any of his relationship statuses other then some offhand mentions.
Will be entertaining to see what some of them say (CMC, Twilight, Rarity) and the inevitable bonuses that come from them.
You know? Has it been mentioned yet how Old spike is? I can’t remember if it was said offhand or not.
10049879
Hmm, if I had to guess he is likely around 16 or 17 if the highest age (scootaloo) is anything to go by.
...... if that’s the case, how old is Rarity and the rest of the Mane Six? Would that make Rarity a cradle robber if she decides to get with him?
10049908
This Assuming that the Rules and laws aren’t skewed if you have a cutie mark. If a Cutie Mark denotes you as an “Adult” And all the issues, responsibility’s and rights that comes with it.....
Kind of makes things a lot more complicated if that’s the case.
10049917
Normally I would agree with that, but we have to take into account Rarity’s business, (which she had WAY before Twilight showed up, long enough to have some MAJOR contacts) Fluttershy living on her own at a VERY young age near one of the most dangerous places in Equestria and Rainbow being a member (payed at that) of the weather team (again long before twilight showed up)
All that connects them is that they earned their cutie marks (Due to Twilight) and have been at it sense then.
10049923
Again true, well in most cases, but if it was just their thing in life then they would be practicing it at home. Yet they have jobs or businesses or hobbies that they have had since a young age.
Like I said before, it gets complicated if we take into account the status that a Cutie Mark gives.
Maybe the author should have a chance to weigh in on this?
10049943
Oh that’s a given considering how vague his has been
But it would be interesting to see what the author would say on this matter, as little as it would be.
I just had another thought, where in the timeline are we? With the urgency and length of departure that Twilight has taken so far could we be at the Tirek point in it?
10049960
Makes me wonder how much Spike is going to fuck the timeline now that he has powers?
Would be funny if accidentally Offs Tirek, would that prevent the Princess of Friendship? Prevent the destruction of the Treebary?
This is gonna be gud!
10049969
Maybe, but a lot of the Fight and Defeat of Tirek was pure luck. Who’s to say he can’t do it with the same luck?
Honestly though? Without anymore hints I am gonna reserve my guess on the timeline.
10049978
Normally yes, but remember for spike as The Gamer; Luck is now a calculable skill point that scales like mad and has powerful buffs. More so if he can tie them to Devine favors!
Yeah, I suspect his reaction is gonna be hilarious!
10049993
I wouldn’t think so? I mean if it’s anything like the manhwa then he should be able to freely put points into it like the rest of his skills.
Make that eleven and now I have to eat breakfast XD
10050005
.......He IS with the CMC I would suspect they would be a fairly constant source of extra LUK points given what they do?
10050014
Or better yet, a unique passive skill that boosts his LUK by a massive amount, heh can call it:
Skill (passive) Lvl MAX: “Luck of the Crusader”
“You have survived more then and hour in the presence of the Infamous Cutie Mark Crusaders and come out without a scratch (or covered in tree sap)
LUK boosted by 25!
10050020
Oof yeah almost forgot about that! So he really has no choice but to some how raise his LUK skill!
I fell sorry for the Author, his inbox is going to be a shocker when he gets on again
10050029
Yeah he does, though remember he closed/minimized a bunch of Boxes. Make me wonder how many of them are LUK notices or passive LUK skills
True, but that’s still almost an hour's worth of replies he has to read
10050038
That we will. That and some of my longer replies too!
Interesting theory on how the skill progression might end up working, but I can't help it feel like it might be overly optimistic. There's always a chance they'll get harder up to 25 and then past 25 continue to get harder.
If this is a real life thing I would appreciate an link or something so I can learn how it is done. Suspect it is not or I would have noticed such a thing at the grocery store unless the reagents are shockingly expensive or the process finicky enough to require human attention for each slice.
Dragon maiden titel incoming
10392731
Butler is more likely. Or maid at least, but for that he have to figure out a way to swap gender first. Then gender-locked titles won't be a problem.
I wonder if Spike Dragonmail has unlimited range...
Could Spike get poisen resistance by eating Sweety Bells food?