This is a Beta Test?! - A Literally Broken System

In the basics of game design, one of the first things a dev would probably focus on was the actual fundamentals of how their game should work. Whether it was a gimmicky control scheme or some kind of system that would synergize with their chosen themes, it was imperative that they take their time in practicing and perfecting their own craft before then building a world around it. That way, it wouldn't be too late if they needed to fix something that might completely break their game.

Unfortunately, Guidance seemed to have gone on it the other way around.

*S-so, I recompiled a copy of my source code, and I took the liberty of jotting down the names of all the UI elements that you might need.*

It had taken a long time for Guidance to come back to me. In the time that she spent with her code, I'd probably already roamed around a fourth of the massive city that I was currently in. Not that it was a bad thing, seeing as I've kind of familiarized myself with what I'll assume to be my hub city for the foreseeable future, but it was still boring when I could've been using my time to get some levels in and actually progress.

Assuming that I even knew what my current end goal was, of course.

"Thanks, Guidance," I earnestly thanked, my hands currently cushioning the back of my head as I leaned on a nearby tree. "And congrats on getting your source code back."

*Y-your welcome,* the shy dev stuttered out, her voice audibly tired as she yawned. "I can't just leave you alone, right?"

I let out a chuckle, the passing of random NPCs acting as a comfortable backdrop as I whispered to myself, "And I'm thankful for that, Guidance. Truly."

I didn't bother voicing out my numerous concerns to the tired woman. After roaming around a bit, I managed to cool myself off and let logic dictate my actions. Guidance was well-meaning, and burning my only bridge to actual information was just counterintuitive.

*You were asking how to open your stats window, right?*

"Yep," I nodded to the air as the bright light of the halo above me suddenly came to the forefront of my mind again. "I'm still stuck with this status symbol above my head."

*I can see that, and that'll only disappear after you allocate your extra stats,* Guidance droned out, her keyboard once again clacking into life as she spoke. *In the time I spent recompiling the game, I fixed a few more bugs that I missed on my first go, so you can expect a smoother experience... Hopefully.*

I shrugged. That was the best I'll probably ever get from her. "Still appreciate it, Guidance."

A faint chuckle echoed from the abyss, her faint voice filling the back of my head as I waited for her to speak.

*S-so... the designated name for the stats screen is 'SS1.' It stands for Stats Screen 1, and it'll probably pull up the rest of the stats along with it.*

I nodded at Guidance's explanation. "Then assuming that I just have to call it out, I should expect myself to be bombarded with windows?"Updated from nov𝒆lbIn.(c)om

The dev hummed, *I guess? It really shouldn't, but the way I coded the stats screen meant that each window would pop up in conjunction with the other stat windows. Then there's also the tabbing system that I layered on the binary...*

Guidance then went on about the intricacies of her own work. I blinked at her rapid-fire delivery, my brain starting to short-circuit at the information overload. I wasn't that unfamiliar with the technical jargon, but even I found it hard to follow what was ostensibly actual programming language.

*...And it should work on its own without any interference,* Guidance finally finished off, her tone more clinical than when she first started talking. *Then again, it should-*

"I get it, Guidance," I chuckled out, cutting her off from going on another programming tirade. "So I should just say [SS1] out loud-"

[CHIME!]

I was cut off as a familiar chime echoed inside my head. I immediately anticipated the window that would surely follow the telltale sound of progress.

[STATS SCREEN 1][SS2][SS3]

[Somatic: Moriya]

[Level 2/99]

[HP: 105]

[MP: 105]

[STR: 5]

[AGI: 6]

[DEX: 6]

[VIT: 5]

[INT: 8]

[LUK: 5]

[AVAILABLE STATS: +2]

In a massive window, a series of numbers and stat appeared in a neat and orderly fashion. My eyes immediately roamed throughout my numbers, taking in what I've got to work with as my gamer brain kicked into high gear.

"Hmm... Just two extra stat points?"

It was kind of paltry when compared to other games, but seeing that I was apparently gonna cap out at Level 99, I could see myself being able to pump at least one stat up to a hundred by the time I was around level 60 or 70. And speaking of which, now that I knew that I was gonna cap out at 99, that just meant that me unlocking a Level 60 dungeon this early was patently ridiculous!

*I-I figured it would be enough to max out one stat,* Guidance meekly chimed in. *All stats max out at 99, Moriya. Is it balanced?*

I hummed at her own explanation as I raised my hand to interact with the window. I could only assume that touching one of these stats would allocate my two precious extra points into the chosen stat. And with no sure way of respeccing down the line, I should probably be careful- wait... Why not just ask?

"Can I respecc if I want to reallocate my stats?"

It wouldn't be game-changing, but it'll give me some leeway with experimentation should such a thing exist.

*I... I haven't thought about it,* the dev admitted, shame coloring her tone as she apologized. *Sorry...*

"It's fine," I waved her off. "Just asking."

Well, that's out. That just meant I won't have any excuses if I specced into the wrong stat. Then again...

"What build am I even going for?"

I already had a bunch of stats on [INT]. Assuming that I'll be going for a magic build, then dumping more points into it would surely boost my damage. But then, I had pistols for weapons and no spells in my arsenal at the moment. And that was assuming that magic even existed in this game.