NOVEL NEXT Chapter 174: Power of Perception
Jim Morrison
The lesson Namir had knocked into me the hardest was to focus my senses while maintaining an awareness of sudden changes among the ridiculously wide range of sensory data my stats, traits and skills could provide me. It helped me have the mental stats to process them and the clarity to do it quickly. The beastkin’s build was first based around his senses, second dexterity to act on what he had sensed while tied for third and fourth came his mind and the clarity he required to make his reflexes instantaneous.
Unable to assign my free points, I lagged far behind his actual attributes, but my unheard-of traits helped me practice the lessons he had taught me. It did not hurt that I had more than one mind to calculate my options, and I spun them up. Together with Kai, Callen, and Caelus, we worked through my skills, building a HUD that displayed as much information as we could glean from the rapidly approaching enemies. Each mind spun up a different skill and added it to the HUD, building layers of information on top of my vision.
Retreating to my mental war room, I built the scenario—first sight. I attempted to inspect and attach levels to my opponents. Most slaves strapped to their oars were hidden from sight by the hull, but from the few on deck, they did not look like they would be a significant threat provided I kept out of their immediate reach.
Name: Saava
Level: 20
Metier: Slave
Age: 22
Strongest stat: Endurance
Name: Theodulus
Level: 20
Metier: Slave
Age: 24
Strongest stat: Endurance
My inspect skill had continued to level over the last year, and I could now understand how much health and stamina they had left. A vital skill when wearing down my cousins and galleys, it appeared. We had worn them down a lot, but they had more stamina left than we had mana, and rowing was not an option for us on our sailboat.
What was more interesting, though, was the captain's levels and his ‘advisors’ on the ship's prow. They had left the helm to another sailor to crowd the prow as they ran us down. Not only their levels but their metiers as well were unusual.
Name: Sinbad
Level: 52
Metier: Merchant Captain
Age: 35
Strongest stat: Dexterity
Name: Junaid
Level: 41
Metier: Warrior
Age: 35
Strongest stat: Strength
Name: Ramil
Level: 43
Metier: Sorceror
Age: 31
Strongest stat: Magic
Name: Farris
Level: 36
Metier: Rogue
Age: 35
Strongest stat: Dexterity
Name: Haakim
Level: 51
Metier: Healer
Age: 35
Strongest stat: Mind
Name: Bahis
Level: 36
Metier: Seeker
Age: 35
Strongest stat: Senses
Name: Murshad
Level: 24
Metier: Cleric
Age: 35
Strongest stat: Senses
We were outnumbered and out-levelled. Shock and awe would take you far, but I worried it would not take us far enough against the worryingly well-levelled professionals arrayed against us. What on earth they were doing so far from the continent, I did not know, but it did not bode well for my budding kingdom or, more immediately, for myself and my father. We could not negotiate from strength stuck as we were on the open ocean with them between us and a safe dock. I would have one shot at this and have to make it count or pay the consequences.
Refusing to get depressed by the details, I continued through my skills. Next up was Time sense. It had been a neglected skill until Namir started having me time the flights of my arrows, stones and spells. Sticks and stones certainly broke bones, but words in this world were equally effective in flinging spells, and he worked hard with me until I had an almost instinctive understanding of when my weapons, whether they be sticks, stones or words, landed.
I had tried using countdown clocks to time it, but in the general mayhem that combat could devolve into a simple single countdown to when I sensed combat would commence was simplest, leaving the rest to the instinctive understanding of how it would evolve. We were running out of time, and even my danger sense was beginning to ping as we drew closer to what must have been their own weapons range. I could perceive the increasing danger of their arrival. Still, I could not pinpoint it to a specific individual on the deck from the individuals who must have been discussing our previous actions and organising the events for our immediate capture. I got to confirm that with my next set of skills.
Third up was my listening and all the other skills from that tree, eavesdropping and echolocation. They allowed me to see the slaves toiling away beneath the deck and behind the hull of the galley. They also allowed me to listen to their conversations despite the distance separating us, and what I heard was less than inspiring.
“How much do mage slaves go for nowadays?” Junaid asked Ramil and Sinbad. It was not a question I wanted to find out the answer to. Someone had also clearly highlighted to the others some of my abilities. Though with block status, I should hopefully have been able to hide the rest of my abilities from them until I shoved them down their throats. We would not be going down without a fight. However, I was still praying that both the denizens of the depths and Anemoi of the Lodestar would swallow or strike them down, respectively.
I flared my listening skills once more, hoping to hear anything else. But all I heard was the . . .
Ding! Sonar (Lv1)
Any other time I would have been ecstatic to gain a new skill and have the time to play with it. Unfortunately, that time was not now. I was running out of time and had to focus my stronger skills on the enemies at hand.
I abandoned using poise, grace, charm, composure, cruising, and seafaring. At the same time, I strengthened my attempts at Lie and deception. I had to appear as exhausted and run down as possible. They would not fall for a sudden change, so I continued to relax some skills while gradually strengthening others. As well as bracing for what I hoped would be a lethal burst of skills ranging from quick reflexes, stealth, intimidation, dart, flash step, and flight. Alongside my Spellcraft, Weapon prodigy and mana skills.
Still, while releasing Mana into the water below me, I continued working on my preparations. Within my mind, I moved to my mediation room, leaving Callen and Caelus to keep track of the rest of the HUD we had created. I focused on my final mind skills. Insight and Mind sense in an attempt to learn their dispositions even as I listened to their conversations regarding us which further flavoured my opinions.
“The sailor looks too old to be broken onto an oar, but he should have plenty of other fine skills to support the Chimera, as he is familiar with sailing these treacherous waters.” Commented Sinbad to the Cleric Murshad.“You will be able to assist, won’t you?” He questioned the cleric.
“Of course, but it might be wise to wait until we have found Kashif’s final destination. We are on the very edge of the compass, and it might be reckless to harden the hearts of the locals owning the last safe harbour.” He cautioned the captain.
Murshad moved from an assumed adversary to a potentially neutral collaborator. He moved to the bottom of my threat list. First came the captain, Sinbad, due to his level and focus on dexterity. I was quick but still squishable if caught. I worried he would be able to. Tied in 2nd place were Ramil and Farris; with magic, Ramil had ranged attacks I might be unable to counter or avoid while close up I feared the synergy of Farris’s rogue skills with his high dexterity. The others were listed as follows, 3rd came Junaid, 4th Bahis, 5th Haakim, before the other sailors and slaves. Murshad now languished in last place on my list of adversaries. I hoped I wouldn’t have to clear an entire shipload of people because I doubted I could physically or mentally. I would rather win free through finesse using all my skills and guile rather than brute forcing our escape.
Listening was still filling in the features of the tapestry, but by using my psi, I hoped to find the threads needed to pull it apart. Insight and mind sense combined gave each character a glow denoting their emotional state. The closer they were to red, the closer they were to act aggressively. Unsurprisingly the warrior was the most enthusiastic about the coming conflict—a sense of finally relieving the tedium of a journey without end or excitement. Despite my many sessions browsing the emotional state of my subjects and cousins in combat, even the fish in the sea, I had never been able to move beyond that. My reluctance to reveal my Psi prevented my tutors from weaponising it.
A regret I hoped to rectify should I survive what was coming next.
Barring the seven minds focused solely on us, the sailors remained ambivalent on our capture, not truly invested in our capture that would give them nothing but cost them another day at sea. While the dimmer minds of the slaves were focused solely on each stroke of the oar, maintaining the time and avoiding the harsh whip for any failures.
The last edition to my HUD was to use Sense Mana to look for any fault or weakness in the ship steadily closing in our stern. To my senses, the ship lit up with runes. From studying with Lady Acacia, I could tell that each protected the hull from a different effect. It was shielded from sight, taste and hearing. The hull was waterproof and actively repelled the water it floated in, allowing it to cut through the water with little friction. Unsurprisingly, they managed to keep up with us despite our skills and strength with mana when loaded with such runes. It would be a tough nut to crack, but one I was going to attempt.
But first, I had to set the scene for my sneak attack, which involved creating a distraction.
We were certainly sailing against the current now.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4hDcd9fzRk&list=RDMM&index=1)
Chapter 174.1: Legends never die
“Legends never die
When the world is calling you
Can you hear them screaming out your name?
Legends never die
They become a part of you
Every time you bleed for reaching greatness
Relentless you survive
They never lose hope when everything's cold
And the fighting's near
It's deep in their bones, they'll run into smoke
When the fire is fierce
Oh, pick yourself up, 'cause
Legends never die
Legends never die
When the world is calling you (the world is calling you)
Can you hear them screaming out your name?
Legends never die
They become a part of you (they become a part of you)
Every time you bleed for reaching greatness
Legends never die”
Against the Current, League of Legends and MAKO
After moving to the boat's prow, I pulled a fiddle from the storage, facing my audience for a quick bow before starting the subtle strumming that would slowly grow until it filled the air with its sound. Over the last year, our attempts to build a full orchestra have resulted in using magic to fill the most obvious gaps created by nearly no musically gifted individuals residing on our humble island. Lady Acacia was happy to experiment with building us wooden instruments and then enchanting them. Once played, this fiddle had been enchanted to continue with or without its musician.
Lowering myself out of their sight, I began drumming the rhythm on the hull itself. A little magic ‘Pulsumno’had the hull vibrating alongside my hits, amplifying the drums to sound far louder than they were once more helped along with my Spellcraft, ‘Amplificare’. My beats bounced across the waves to the galley following behind. I could tell by the shudder in the rhythm of the oars that I had caught their attention.
This was reinforced by the words overheard.
“I thought the halfling mage was a cleric, not a bard, based on his prayer earlier,” Sinbad complained. I was still focused on so much, and the immediate response to my rhythm caught my attention.
“Spellcraft and Spellsong both benefit from a little charisma,” Ramil answered. “Have them make a final push before he brings anything else into play. He is nearly within my range.” He promised.
But I was only starting the next stage of our plan; the monsters from the depths had yet to appear beneath us. Despite gaining a new skill, Sonar, something still needed to turn up on it. Biting the hand that feeds it was not working for me; it would take my whole body. At least getting wet was also the plan's next step, provided they didn’t swallow me whole as soon as I stepped into the water.
I also had to avoid being plucked from the water by the human monsters or slavers; as they passed, I needed a distraction, leading to my impromptu performance in the boat's prow.
“Legends never die.” I softly began the song, swiftly growing in strength and volume. Hopefully, I would be one after this performance and not another dead idiot—the difference is often only ever measured by success.
The drumming continued as I applied repetson to the hull. It was another hunting trick of Namir. You can record a sound, conversation, breathing into the stone and activate it far from your side as a diversion or as a lure; it was the magical evolution of a thrown stone. That did not stop me from developing it further, and with Lady Acacia’s help, it could now continue the rhythmic drumming on the hull with or without me.
I repeated this once more with my voice with another repetson.
I now had instruments, percussion and voice playing independently and out of sight of the enemies behind us on the galley. With my decoy built, it was time to slip into the water and make my move. Leaving them following my father and the sound of my voice, I rolled overboard unseen as he tacked once more. I watched from under the waves as he sailed out of sight, but not out of my senses
Now came the tricky part as the galley closed in on my position following in the wake of my father.
It was boy against boat!