NOVEL NEXT Chapter 23 - Assassin's Potential
For the first time since I’d met him, Azarus looked genuinely uneasy. “Tha’s not good. Tha’s not good at all.” He said, his accent thickening in his distress.
I looked over at Azarus, furrowing my brow at the blatant agitation written across his face. “What do you mean? I’m not a fan of hurting you guys, but isn’t it good that I have a strong racial?”
Grey spoke before Azarus could, drawing my attention back to him. “Indeed, it is.” He said evenly, his gaze steely. “In some regards. However, what Azarus is referring to is the…overall picture, not merely the potency of your racial.”
At this point, I was truly confused by their reaction. “What do you mean?”
Sighing heavily, Grey ran a hand over his smooth head. “The problem Nathan, is the interest that your talent will attract if its capabilities are leaked to the general public. You must understand, the ability of your racial talent to affect those far above your level in such a manner is not only unusual, it’s unheard of. In all my years…” He shook his head. “I can only conclude that this is due to your Precursor nature. However, you must make all attempts possible to conceal the depths of its potential.”
Azarus shifted uneasily. “Don’t let anyone know ya can punch so far above your weight if ya can help it. If ya do, you’re gonna get taken and turned into a weapon for some uppity noble. That’s an assassin’s skill if I’ve ever seen one.”
“Yes.” Grey nodded. “Do not hesitate to use the skill. It bodes well for our purposes and our current circumstances. However, if you must use it against an opponent, give them no chance to report it.” He fixed me with his gaze. “Do you understand?”
It was my turn to be unsettled. I did understand what he was saying, I was just deeply uncomfortable with it. Jesus Christ, I wasn’t a murderer. I’d grown up in modern America and had never gotten into anything more serious than an elementary school fistfight. It was one thing to kill mostly mindless monsters that resembled animals, but it was an entirely other matter to kill another person. Nevertheless, I nodded jerkily at Grey’s words.
Grey’s expression softened slightly. “Well.” He murmured. “If we cannot sense the mechanism by which Nathan’s skill functions, it might well be too dangerous to continue testing it. Continue to use it in combat, for now, and we will try again once we escape.”
“If. If we escape.” Azarus said grimly.
“If,” Grey affirmed quietly. He shook his head slightly. “On the other hand, there is also Nathan’s second skill to test, no? The Status concealment one? Have either of you tested that one?” He asked us in a forcibly cheerful tone.
“Ah, no.” Azarus answered, shaking his head. I did the same.
“Well, give it a go I’d say,” Grey said, motioning to me. “From what I recall, it certainly sounded less…portentous, in application. Afterward, you can continue your martial training with Azarus.”
I nodded quietly. I guess. Not like I had anything better to do.
I closed my eyes and concentrated.
Hidden Amidst the Spheres.
I felt a clicking sensation deep inside me, somewhere I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but nothing else happened. However, I felt a sense of…potential, I guess? It was hard to explain. It was like I could reach out to my Status in some way. Instinctively, I tried. I was surprised at what happened.
In my mind's eye, my Status expanded before me.
Name Nathaniel Eugene Hart
Titles N/A
Level 5
Age 24 Sol
Race Human (Precursor)
Affinity Terrestrial
Classes N/A
Professions Material Enchantment, Mechanical Engineering, Blacksmithing, Medicinal Alchemy, Surgery
Health 240/240
Stamina 100/100
Vitality 14
Strength 10
Spirit 10
Dexterity 18
Perception 14
Intelligence 22
Wisdom 22
Free Points 0
Options Talent Page, Skill Page, Profession Page
My eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“Nathan?” I heard Grey ask curiously.
I waved one hand absentmindedly. “One sec,” I said, not opening my eyes.
Okay, so my Racial allowed me to view my Status without using a mirror, but I could tell that wasn’t all to it. My Status looked different from how it usually did on a mirror. There was something about the text that looked…impermanent, somehow. Like it could drift away with the wind. I reached out to my Status mentally, raising a hand as well to help focus. I mentally tapped one of the entries and received an impression of possibility. Of change. Mentally shrugging, I tried it out.
I opened my eyes to the expectant looks of both Grey and Azarus. Feeling self-conscious, I spoke. “Well, can you guys try and Observe me, then? I want to see if what I did actually reflected outwards.”
“Of course,” Grey said absentmindedly. As soon as the word Observe had left my lips, Grey had gotten that focused look in his eyes that I knew to be an indication of Observe use. Azarus followed shortly after. Shortly after, I felt two small tingles on the back of my neck.
Grey must have spotted what I did first because an amused smile crossed his face. He met my eyes, nodded at me, and sat back to watch Azarus’s reaction. It didn’t take long.
Azarus snorted, obviously canceling his skill and focusing on me. “You wish.” He told me. “You’re not handsome enough to be a dwarf.”
I smirked back at him. “Oh, I don’t know. I think I get by.” I said modestly, buffing my nails on my shirt.
Azarus rolled his eyes at me. “So, is that it? Ya can change your Status to show what ya want it to?” He asked curiously.
I shook my head. “No, that’s not all. It uh, lets me mentally view my Status as well. I mean, I need to be able to see it to change it, right?” I said, laughing nervously. Mentally, I braced myself. After everything else that had happened, I was ready for them to go all doom and gloom and act like this was the end of the world.
They didn’t.
“Not bad.” Azarus nodded, impressed. “Don’t got one of those meself.”
Grey rubbed his chin. “I do wish we had tested this before you had committed your free points. That way, we would be able to test which version of a Status viewing skill you have.”
I was taken aback, but not in a bad way. I relaxed somewhat. “So, something like this isn’t super rare.”
Grey waved a hand dismissively. “Oh no, not at all. Skills that allow you to bypass the usage of a mirror are not common, but they’re not unknown. It’s merely down to personal preference whether you choose to pursue one. It depends on how much you value the convenience factor. I myself have one.” He told me.
“Cool,” I said, relieved. “So, what was it you were saying about skill versions?”
“Oh, there are generally two versions of Status viewing skills. The first merely allows you to view your status as it is through a medium of your choice, usually mental, but affect no changes to it. In those cases, you still need a reflective surface to interact with your Status. The second merely allows you to work mental changes on your Status, without visualization. Things such as free point allocation, or skill selection. It typically depends on the quality of the skill. I suspect that since yours is a racial, it will be the active changes version.” Grey explained to me happily. I could tell that he was happy to be back in his element, teaching me things.
Azarus rubbed his chin. “Though, ya know.” He said musingly. “Never heard of a skill that lets ya view and change your status at the same time.”
“Hmm.” Grey nodded. “Yes, neither have I. But it’s not altogether unusual. Thematically, it makes sense to be able to see and change your Status when you’d like. I suspect there might have been similar skills for others in the past if the Skill was of an unusually high quality. However, it makes sense for a Racial to be so flexible, as well. Congratulations, Nathan.”
I shrugged, mildly uncomfortable. “Thanks, I guess”.
Azarus grew uncomfortable for a moment himself. “But, ah. Both of those Racials, they kinda got a theme, don’t they? They both seem like skills for an assassin.”
Grey paused for a moment before speaking. “Technically, yes.” He said delicately. “I do believe they would suit that skill set the best. However, don’t let our musings influence you over much, Nathan. You are free to develop in whichever direction you see fit.”
"What the hell do you mean?" I asked them, baffled. "I kinda get my veiling skill, but the flames? How is a skill that conjures brightly glowing rainbow flames supposed to be an assassin skill?"
Azarus rolled his eyes at me. "You'll get better at using it. I wouldn't be surprised if ya can dim them down enough that the light is barely seen."
"Azarus is correct." Grey nodded. "Racials are often highly versatile, and their usage is dependent on the skill of the wielder."
Oh.
We sat in silence for a moment before Grey broke it again.
“There are a few things I suggest that you change on your Status.” He told me. “Normally, your Status displays your race as a Precursor, correct?” At my nod, he continued. “I suggest changing it to simply display yourself as a human. Furthermore, you should conceal your additional Professions. If someone Observed you and noticed that you had more than the standard two, I suspect that would bring trouble.”
“All right.” I nodded. “But…which two do you think I should leave up?”
“Leave Surgery,” Azarus suggested. “Bleddyn already wants ya to be coming by the shop, so you’ll need that reason if a guard asks ya.”
“Indeed, and I would recommend that the second profession that you leave be your Alchemy.” Grey picked up. “To those in the know, they will already be aware of my presence in this house, thus easily explaining how you acquired it.”
“Sounds fine to me. I’ll just, uh, do that then.” I said awkwardly. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my skill again. Once my Status was back up, I mentally made the changes we had talked about. Once I was done, I went over my Status again critically.
Name Nathaniel Eugene Hart
Titles N/A
Level 5
Age 24 Sol
Race Human (Precursor)
Affinity Terrestrial
Classes N/A
Professions Material Enchantment, Mechanical Engineering, Blacksmithing, Medicinal Alchemy, Surgery
Health 240/240
Stamina 100/100
Vitality 14
Strength 10
Spirit 10
Dexterity 18
Perception 14
Intelligence 22
Wisdom 22
Free Points 0
Options Talent Page, Skill Page, Profession Page
I could still see the items I had hidden on my Status, but they seemed, well, veiled. I opened my eyes and looked at Grey and Azarus again. I'd had a thought while working on my Status.
"What about my Virtues?" I asked them. "Wouldn't the amount I have seem suspicious? Should I hide those too?"
Grey smiled patiently at me. "That will not be an issue, Nathan. Observe type skills do not display Virtue distribution."
“Oh. All right then, give it a go,” I said to them.
They both got that look in their eyes again, and I felt that same tingle. After a moment, they stopped and Grey nodded at me in satisfaction.
“All appears well to me. Azarus?” Grey said, turning his head to Azarus.
Azarus just grunted, nodding.
Grey turned back to me and clapped his hands. “Well then! I believe that’s all we needed to discuss for now, yes? I remind you gentlemen that you woke me to have this conversation, and at this point, I’m quite hungry. You two,” He said, pointing from me to Azarus. “Also have some training to get back to, no?”
“Oh, joy,” I said sarcastically.
Azarus shoved off of the wall he had been leaning on. “Oh, quit your bitchin’. It won’t be that bad.”
……………………………………...
I flopped down on my bed with a groan.
Yeah, it had been pretty bad.
After our conversation in Grey’s room about my Racials, Grey had left to make some breakfast for himself, while Azarus and I had left for more training. Once there, we had spent the rest of the fucking day out in the sun, ‘training’. More like torture, to me. He’d started by showing me more spear forms, than having me run through them over and over and over again. Once he’d been satisfied that I was starting to get the hang of them, he’d moved on to actual fighting. Of course, once I’d actually started to fight Azarus, those forms broke down. I was clearly not ready for actual combat yet. Whenever I’d screw up like that, Azarus would make me go through everything that he’d taught me all over again before we could fight again.
I didn’t end up fighting all that much today.
It was exhausting. The only real breaks that we took were either for water or for lunch and dinner. I’d just gotten back from dinner, actually. When we were done with dinner, Grey had actually told me that he had an idea about how to get me the last Profession available in town, Wildshaping. He told me to prepare myself for tomorrow morning. Turning my head to my window, I could see that it was fully dark by now. I guess I should be getting to sleep soon.
I knew that I should take a bath after all that exertion today, but I was too tired to move from my surprisingly comfy bed. I’d do it in the morning.
Curious, I decided to check my Status to see if my Spear Talent had grown from everything I’d done today. Too lazy to reach for the mirror that I knew was inside my bedside table, I used Hidden Amidst the Spheres to check mentally.
Yup, Spear Proficiency had grown again. This time to level four.
I guess I wasn’t too surprised to see that it had grown a level today. Azarus had worked me pretty hard.
I relaxed my mental hold on my Status, letting it dissipate. For a bit, I just stared blankly at the ceiling in peaceful silence. After a few minutes of zoning out, I mentally reached for Hidden Amidst the Spheres again.
But this time, I just held the skill activated without pulling up my Status. I hadn’t been completely honest with Grey and Azarus that my skill could only view and change my Status. I don’t know why I hadn’t told them; they’d been extremely forthright with me since they literally saved my life. I had no reason to distrust them.
But…
Something in me said that I needed to keep this on the down low. I don’t know why, I hadn’t even gotten that feeling about my apparent super-assassin skill.
Every time that I activated the skill, there was a sense of…potential that built up before I opened my Status. Intuitively, I knew there was more to that feeling, but I didn’t know what to do with it. Sitting up and forgetting my exhaustion for a moment, I just held the skill in its activated state without opening my Status with bated breath. The potential just kept building and building until some kind of reservoir built into the skill felt like it would burst. And then…
It just dissipated without doing anything.
Letting out a sigh and flopping back on my bed again, I put my arm over my eyes.
Whatever, I’d figure it out later.