Diana Keene slept peacefully on the bed in Nathaniel's hotel room. The FBI agent himself sat at his desk, staring at his pair of blue-light filtering glasses he usually wore when using a computer. They limited eye strain and prevented him from getting bloodshot eyes. The glasses looked like any normal pair; with black plastic frames and a slight blue shimmer to the lenses. However Minerva had specifically instructed Nathaniel not to leave them behind - like he had done in the last apocalypse. Thus Nathaniel reasoned that the glasses were a relic - an object imbued with divine power. Unlike deals or covenants with Gods, relics granted set abilities to the owner while allowing them to surpass their human limit. They also tended to be more difficult to destroy than their non-divine counterparts. [The only question is,] thought Nathaniel, [if it is a cursed relic or not]. Sighing and deciding to embrace the risk, he reached out and touched the glasses.
Immediately after touching the glasses Nathaniel was transported into a sprawling metropolis illuminated by the stars. The countless sidewalks and streets were devoid of all people and cars. Skyscrapers towered upwards, piercing the sky like obelisks dedicated to an unseen and terrifying capitalist God. In the midst of it all stood a man wearing a futuristic mech suit complete with an integrated gas mask. The orange-yellow glow of the various lights on the man's suit pulsed softly, casting flickering shadows around him. On his shoulder rested a large plasma rifle that bristled with chaotic nuclear energy. Without warning the man lept towards Nathaniel - covering the distance between them in mere seconds.
"Hello there." boomed an electronic and static-filled voice from the man.
"So… what are you the God of?" asked Nathaniel, wary of the newcomer and the sudden teleportation, "and where are we?"
"I" crackled the man's voice through the interference, "am Ludo the God of RPGs and this is one of my many Domains - The Sprawl Before The Storm."
"The God of RP… what?" questioned Nathaniel.
"Of RPGs, of Role Playing Games." answered Ludo, holstering his colossal weapon onto a magnetic holster on his back.
"And… why am I here? I already have a Patron." said Nathaniel, feigning ignorance. If any God found out he had retained his memories of the past he would be atomised in an instant.
"Your glasses are a relic," explained Ludo excitedly, "they allow you to observe other people's power levels and quantify them using the same easy-to-understand numeric stat system utilised by the Gods!"
Nathaniel blinked once and then once again.
"Pardon?" he asked, confused. He had never heard of a stat system used for quantifying power levels. In the previous apocalypse it was possible to see a number representation of a person's total power level, but never specifics. The system had been used with caution, since a person with 700 power could be physically dangerous or have powerful abilities - there was no way to tell what made them powerful. Even then the score itself was a person's maximum combat ability when pushing their limits - which not everyone can do. Thus a person with 900 power could realistically only be able to use 100 of it properly, making them below an average human's strength before the apocalypse.
"Okay so," began Ludo in a calmer tone, "Just thinking about seeing your own power level and say 'appraise self', then say 'appraisal help and everything will be explained.'"
Nathaniel did as the God said and instantly a blue semi-transparent textbox appeared in front of him. It read;
=========================
[Enhanced Appraisal]
Name: Nathaniel Marshall Torres
Title/s: None, (One Hidden Title)
Essence: 12
---> Power of the Body aka physical power; includes all skills, physical prowess and all non-magical aspects of a person that contribute to their power. Examples of contributing factors include muscular strength, endurance, marksmanship, skills and more.
Favour: 5
---> Power of the Divine aka divine power; includes all magical abilities, resistances and powers derived from Gods. Examples of contributing factors include divine abilities gifted by a God and divine abilities gained through relic ownership.
Reserve: 2
---> Power of the Mind aka willpower; a person's ability to exceed their actual strength (Essence & Favour). Accessible when desperate, pushing one's self beyond their limits and in other extremely emotional states. For example entity [Nathaniel Marshall Torres]'s Essence could increase up to 14 Points in dire scenarios as they have 2 Reserve.
Power Level: 19
---> Total Power of the entity aka Power Level; the total Power Level of an entity, calculated by the sum of Essence, Favour & Reserve. Note: Power Level is visible with Basic Appraisal, however all other stats require at least Enhance Appraisal to be visible.
Skills;
Error - A minimum of Advanced Appraisal is required to access this information, including how this mechanic functions.
Abilities;
Error - A minimum of Advanced Appraisal is required to access this information, including how this mechanic functions.
* Note some information is hidden due to Appraisal not meeting level requirements
[End Appraisal]
=========================
"So…" said Nathaniel, "I can see my own more detailed stats to see how strong I am?"
"Yes," replied the God enthusiastically, "And you can even look at the stats of others, instead of saying 'appraise self' just say 'appraise' and think of your target. Do note they have to be in your line of sight for this to work."
Once again Nathaniel complied and a new textbox replaced the old one, this time hovering beside Ludo. It read;
=========================
[Enhanced Appraisal]
Name: Ludo
Title/s: Pinnacle of Role-Playing Games, Gloomslayer
Warning! Entity [Ludo] is orders of magnitude more powerful than you. You are unable to Appraise exact stats until your power level increases.
Essence: ???
Favour: ???
Reserve: ???
Power Level: ???
Skills;
Error - A minimum of Advanced Appraisal is required to access this information, including how this mechanic functions.
Abilities;
Error - A minimum of Advanced Appraisal is required to access this information, including how this mechanic functions.
* Note some information is hidden due to Appraisal not meeting level requirements
[End Appraisal]
=========================
Nathaniel nodded slowly, reading the textbox "So you are so strong I cannot even quantify how strong you are?" he inquired.
Ludo smiled in response. "Yes, I am one of the most powerful Gods thus you cannot even comprehend my strength. It is like an ant comparing its strength against a tank - they are simply separated by immense amounts. Admittedly you are slightly weaker than average for a recently made Angel, The typical human that has just become an Angel has 10 Essence, 10 Favour and 2 Reserve for a total of 22 Power whereas your Power is 19. Your Favour is lacking, for now at least."
"I understand, kind of an intuitive system. I do have a few questions though, why is my Appraisal Enhanced and can you tell me what the skills and abilities section details? Will it only show abilities and skills I know a person has, if I unlock Advanced Appraisal, and does it show detailed information too?" proposed Nathaniel, curious at his newly granted ability.
Ludo's laugh crackled through the static of the hidden speakers of his armoured suit before he continued, "It is indeed intuitive, it is a system devised by myself and is so elegant it has been adopted by all the Gods. Like many abilities, Appraisal becomes stronger with consecutive use or through deals with myself. Most Gods are lazy and do not assign levels or classifications to them, simply maintaining the same name and trigger words. I, however, am different. As the God of RPGs I am compelled to quantify and rank everything, thus abilities I offer are ranked and quantified. Basic Appraisal, the lowest rank and the rank below your own, only allows one to see an entity's name, titles and power level - no additional information. I am working on granting this ability to all Angels, since it would be of great benefit for all. As for Advanced Appraisal, I refuse to elaborate. If you stay in my favour then perhaps I shall upgrade your relic, however I am uncertain for now. Regardless, enjoy your new ability Nathaniel. You will need it for the trials to come."
Before Nathaniel could even reply the city faded to black and he found himself back in his hotel room with Diana. [It was a good idea to take the glasses], he thought, [however it is strange Ludo wants to give everyone access to the Appraisal ability this time].