Delano lay on a bed of white sheets. It was large enough for two people and it was one of three beds in the room.

Once their host who may or may not be an Alchemist had finished addressing them, they’d been ushered all up to their rooms.

Considering the size of the house, Melmarc had thought they’d each get their own rooms but Mrs. Ella had been vehemently against the idea. Apparently, they were to be the only guests the mansion would be having for the weekend so there were more than enough rooms to spare.

To the groans and complains of some of his classmates, Mrs. Ella had insisted on shared rooms.

Obviously, the girls paired up with each other, and the boys did the same. When the groupings were formed, Mrs. Ella took one look at them and disagreed with it.

“I leave you five together and you might as well burn the whole house down,” she muttered as she split a group of five boys who already looked like they were planning on breaking a few windows.

“And all you’ll do is try to find the fastest way to get drugs in the house.”

She split another group.

“Ha! I have no idea how you two thought I wouldn’t notice.”

And so groups were disbanded and new ones created. Melmarc had been worried they’d put him in a different group from his friends, and prayed it would not be the case.

He wasn’t sure how he was going to survive the night sharing a room with one of his classmates he never spoke to.

He would have to be disobedient and sneak out in the night.

But when Mrs. Ella got to them, all she had was a confused frown.

“I can’t say I have a problem with this,” she mused. “I certainly can’t put Delano with any of the others. He’ll just say something and they’ll beat him in his sleep… And, honestly, I won’t blame them. And you,” she looked at Melmarc. “Well you’re really the only one that knows how to handle him.”

When she looked at Eroms her frown only deepened.

After a while, she dipped her hands in one of her pockets—all her clothes had pockets, even her gowns—and brought out a bubble gum.

“Gum?”

Eroms took it with a generous thanks.

Now they sat in their room. One of the house maids had arrived earlier to inform them that dinner was ready, and was totally optional. She’d also given Delano a warm smile before she’d left.

When she was gone, Delano had suggested they wait a bit longer, go down late.

There wasn’t a soul in the room that didn’t know why he wanted them to go late.

“Wasn’t she the one I saw making hand gestures at the window?” Melmarc asked after a while. “At first I thought she was cleaning, then she turned and her hands were together, no tools or anything.”

“Yep.” Delano tossed one of his three pillows in the air and caught it. “I saw her doing it last year, too. I think she’s a Weaver.” He made a few hand gestures, some of them involved interlacing his fingers.

“What’s that?”

“Apparently, it’s the one she uses to increase her horniness.”

Melmarc rolled his eyes. “Sure it is.”

He was sitting on his bed, undoing the laces of his shoes. When he’d taken them off, he flopped down on the bed with his back.

It was soft, and very comfortable.

“If your vampire theory is remotely true, shouldn’t all his staff be vampires? Or, at least, most of them.”

“Maybe.” Delano didn’t seem very interested in the conversation. “Could be he’s hiding the others in the massive mansion and trying to lull all of us into a false sense of security by telling us he’s a vampire as a joke. He used the same joke last year.”

"I thought he said he was a namer."

Delano nodded. "He said that, too. And said he might be a vampire as well."

“And you think that’s like reverse psychology?” Melmarc let out a comfortable breath. The bed was way too cozy. “So it’s like, I’ll joke about being this so you guys don’t think it’s what I am.”

“Hiding in plain sight,” Eroms said. He was at the wardrobe, unpacking some of Delano’s things.

Melmarc wanted to ask why Delano didn’t just unpack his own things. It wasn’t like they were here to stay for a week. He wouldn’t have packed too many things.

“Wait. We’re only here for the weekend. What did you pack?”

“One shirt, including this one.” Delano tugged at the collar of his tee. “One pair of shoes for tomorrow, some underwear, and two pants. And some toiletries. Tooth brush, paste, soap. Things like that.”

Melmarc pointed at Eroms. “Then what has he been putting in the cabinet.”

Eroms pulled another item from the bag and held it up.

“Snacks?” Melmarc was confused. “So he packed a food bag which he finished on the road, then packed snacks in your bag. What’s in his bag?”

Eroms looked at Delano, then Melmarc. Then he bent to pick up his bag at his feet.

Delano waved him to stop with a gesture. “It’s just more food. He’s been eating a lot lately and his parents seem to be happy with it. And since my parents adore him so much and he doesn’t seem to be getting fatter, no one seems to mind. He's always eaten like a horse so it's good. Anyway, Eroms, check the door.”

That grabbed Melmarc’s attention. “Why is he checking the door?”

Eroms was already moving. He got to the door and opened it. He stuck his head out for a few seconds then brought it back in.

“Empty.”

“Good.” Delano dropped the pillow he’d been handling. “Close it. Lock it.”

Eroms obeyed promptly.

Sometimes Melmarc didn’t understand their friendship. One moment Eroms could completely disregard Delano, and the next moment he treated him like he was his commanding officer.

Melmarc checked the time on his phone and it was just a few minutes to nine.

“Isn’t it a bit too early to be snooping around if we don’t want to get caught?”

Delano paused. “What are you talking about?”

“Weren’t we about to go snooping around?”

“Now?” Delano checked his phone. “Dude, it’s just a few minutes to nine. What kind of snooper snoops on people this early? And how are we going to go snooping if Eroms is locking the door?”

“Oh.” Melmarc’s lips pursed in embarrassment. “So why is he locking the door?”

“Because we have something to talk about.” Delano gestured to Eroms. “Come have a sit.”

He patted the side of his bed and Eroms joined. Since his bed was the one in the middle, it was the closest to Melmarc’s.

“Should I check the windows?” Eroms asked, hesitant.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Delano waved the question aside. “Nah. We’re on the third floor. Anyone who’s so determined to be a part of this that they’re at the window kinda deserves to be a part of this.”

When Eroms sat down, Delano looked at him and added: “Now I’m about to tell you something important, so I need you to control yourself, alright?”

Eroms nodded with a blank look on his face. Melmarc simply shook his head.

Eroms had never had an issue controlling himself. If anything, he was like the expressionless friend, not because he was somehow stone-cold, but because sometimes he acted slow. Even when he got jokes, he looked as if he didn’t get them.

“Are you ready?” Delano asked.

Eroms nodded.

“Alright, get this. Melmarc is Gifted.”

Eroms said nothing, did nothing.

After a while a small smile stretched his lips. Melmarc wasn’t sure what to do with that. Delano didn’t even seem to be bothered by it.

The smile widened until what was left was for Eroms to start laughing. But he didn’t.

Instead, he got up from his bed, walked up to Melmarc and hugged him. It was a big and complete hug. His arms practically wrapped around Melmarc and he lifted him up from his bed.

“I get it, big guy.” Melmarc patted his friend’s side since both his arms were locked down by his side. “Thanks for the congratulations.”

Eroms put him back down gently and released him. Then he went back to sit next to Delano. He sat a little too close but Delano didn’t seem to mind.

“So,” Delano said. “What skills did you get? Since you’re learning chess, I take it you haven’t chosen yet. Probably ditched the Juggernaut idea. Going for something more intelligence based?”

The answer to that wasn't completely simple. It had taken Melmarc only a moment to realize he couldn't go the juggernaut route. His skills were based on what he was already proficient in. He didn't have any proficiency in physicality, and he doubted he had the time to develop it. So he was diversifying. For now, he could train his mind.

If he didn't get something good by the time the trip was over, he would resume on his training on other possibilities when he got home. For now, he worked with the little he had.

As for the question?

Melmarc told them easily. He told them of the skills he’d gotten at first and the ones he’d lost. He also told them of the new ones he’d gained in exchange. He spoke of [Rings of Saturn] as well, but left out how he felt about it and why.

He didn’t necessarily feel like talking about that part of his past just yet. Everyone knew of the attack, but no one knew the details. No one knew how much he knew.

Delano stroked his clean jaw thoughtfully. “So you didn’t want to accidentally get Monk.”

“Monks usually find themselves charging into the fight.”

“So do Juggernauts.”

“Yes, but Monks are more offensive oriented. Juggernauts are defensive… in a manner of speaking.”

“So you’re scared but don’t want people to know you’re scared.”

Melmarc blinked in confusion. “How?”

“Well, I take it you want to be a very strong Delver, but you don’t want to have to fight, because you’re scared of the outcome of a fight, but you also want to be able to protect your friends.” He pointed at him and Eroms. “In case you thought I was talking about your team mates, I was not. I was talking about us. So you’re going for a powerful pacifist. Strong enough to say he doesn’t want to fight, and protect people at the same time.”

Melmarc hadn’t really thought about it that way. But now that Delano put it like that, it kind of felt noble.

“I guess you can put it that way.”

Delano’s brows furrowed in a frown. “What are you smiling for? That wasn’t a compliment. And before you go and start thinking that’s a compliment because it’s somehow noble—because that’s what Eroms said when I told him the same thing—it’s not.”

Melmarc laughed. “Sorry to break it to you, D. But it is.”

“It’s not. Let me tell you why.” Delano raised a finger to stall his argument. “If you’re going to be a pacifist, be a pacifist. Get the required tools and use them correctly. You don’t take a gun and use it to build a house. If you pray for a specific Class, then you owe it to that Class to use the Class the way it was intended to be used. Juggernaut, for instance, is a class that gives you the strength to destroy things in one shot.”

“And take a lot of blows without falling.”

“Arrrgh!” Delano pulled at his hair. “You sound like a Juggernaut applying for a support role in a Delving team. No one will take you seriously. You know why? Because a Juggernaut is not a support role. A Juggernaut is like the Hulk. Smash. That’s it. Only idiots think otherwise.”

Melmarc cocked a brow. “Okay, now you’re just being mean.”

“I’m not being—”

Delano cut himself off with a deep breath. A very deep breath.

“Marc,” he started afresh, his tone more controlled. “You’re trying to choose Juggernaut for all the wrong reasons. You won’t like it.”

There was a touch of silence after that. Melmarc wasn’t sure how to break it or if he even wanted to.

Eroms had no such compunction.

“You didn’t say sorry for being mean,” he said.

Delano’s face turned up in confusion and Melmarc started laughing.

Delano turned on Eroms. “You have got to be kidding me, right? I wasn’t being mean, some of the things I said just sounded mean.”

“That’s what being mean is.”

Delano opened his mouth, then closed it. He turned to Melmarc and repeated the same motion. Opened his mouth. Closed it.

Melmarc held both hands up. “Sorry, but I can’t help you on this one. Besides, I don’t think I’m going to be getting the Juggernaut class.”

“Why?”

“Well, the message I got said that the skills I’m getting are based on what I have proven to be capable of. I’ve thought about it and Juggernaut isn’t me. In any way.”

“True.” Delano adjusted on the bed so that there was a little space between him and Eroms. “Then what are you trying to go for now?”

“I don’t know yet. My uncle said it won’t be a bad idea to wait it out, but I should take a world skill if I get one.”

“Everyone knows you should take a world skill if you get one.” He thumbed at Eroms. “Even he knows that, and he sounds like he lives under a rock when anyone’s talking about the Gifted.”

Eroms nodded as if there hadn’t been an insult in there somewhere.

“Wait, don’t tell me you’re actually holding out for a World skill?” Delano asked. “Dude, you’ll end up waiting forever. You don’t want to end up like Bob Slater.”

Melmarc paused. “Bob Slater?”

“Yeah. Bob Slater.” Delano made a vague gesture with his hand. “B-rank Brewer of Coffee. He waited too long and only ended up with the Brewer of Coffee class, so all he does is make coffee in France somewhere. They say he's unsuccessful at it but most of the people in my community have their reservations.”

“I know who Bob Slater is. I’m just confused as to how you know who Bob Slater is. I didn’t find out until my uncle told me.”

Delano snorted. It was the most pompous snort Melmarc had ever heard.

“Everyone in the community knows who Bob Slater is. He’s the only person to ever be given one main skill and one support skill to choose from. And no one knows why it happened. It would’ve been better if he’d gotten the Barista class, at least it gives some points to dexterity and agility. All his class allows him to do is make a proper coffee.”

Melmarc shook his head. It looked like he was slacking on his Gifted knowledge.

“Anyway, I’m not waiting for a world skill,” he said, then fluffed a pillow and placed his head on it. “But I don’t want a skill I won’t like.”

“Let’s say you do get a World skill, you know once you start choosing, you’ll have to finish choosing. No more new skills?”

Melmarc shrugged. “That’s only if I get a World skill. Besides, you can’t go wrong with a World skill.”

“Alright. That makes sense. So what’s chess going to bring?”

Melmarc stared at the ceiling. “Do you know that for you to be good at chess, you have to know where all your pieces are as well as where all your opponent’s pieces are, as well as what influence they can have on the game if and when they move?”

“Same thing with shogi and checkers.”

“I wouldn’t add checkers to that list. And I don’t know anything about shogi.” Melmarc raised his hand and stared at the back of it. He’d lost a number of chess matches with it. “But chess. Now I remember why I… What I’m trying to say is, in chess you have to predict the moves of at least thirty-two pieces with over sixteen possible moves per turn.”

Delano made a thoughtful sound. “Sounds like you’re trying to get a complicated skill. What kind of skill… or Class, works like that?”

He made slow hand signs, that drew Melmarc’s attention.

“Does that really increase that maid’s horniness?” he asked.

Delano nodded. “At least that’s what she told me.”

“And you remember it.”

“Of course.”

“You know that only works if you’re a Weaver, right?”

“I do. But you never know.”

“So what are you trying to do; increase your horniness?”

Eroms looked at Delano then switched to Melmarc’s bed.

Delano dropped his hands. “Ewww. Of course not. I’m stuck here with dumb and dumber, why would I want to do that? I’m hoping it will increase her horniness. It’s a holiday and I’m trying to get laid.”

“I have a feeling she wouldn’t come to you if she got horny.” Eroms shook his head. “Besides, the door’s locked. And isn’t she like twenty-something? You really need to dial down on your attraction to older ladies until you’re eighteen. You’ll get someone in jail.”

“That’s not the point. And it doesn’t matter. I’m more concerned about what skill you’re trying to get. It’s going to be high in intelligence, you know that, right? But I thought you said you didn’t want something that’s intelligence based.”

“Remember that chess prodigy that became a Gifted?” Melmarc asked.

Delano just stared.

“The one with the Archer class but somehow uses a gun?”

“Oh.” Delano snapped his finger. “You’re trying to get that guy’s skill? But that’s rare. And he’s a chess prodigy, and you’re—no offence—you.”

“I know what I am,” Melmarc said, slightly offended. “I lost four games in a row to a fourteen-year-old. I’m not trying to get that guy’s skill. I’m trying to get something like it.”

“Something to increase your spatial awareness. But what good’s that going to do you? Those kinds of skills are more useful for a ranged class. So it’ll only work if you plan on picking the Rings of Saturn.”

Melmarc didn’t necessarily agree with that.

“I still have about a week,” he said. “I’m sure I’ll find something I like.”

“Sure.” Delano didn’t sound sure.

Eroms phone suddenly started ringing, drawing everyone’s attention.

Melmarc looked at him. “That your mom?”

“No.” Eroms brought the phone out of his pocket and showed Delano.

Delano smiled. “I guess it’s go time. Go get the door.”

“Go time?” Melmarc asked, confused. “You’re putting a lot of seriousness into dinner. Their cooking can’t be that good.”

Eroms unlocked the door. Then he went to the cabinet where he’d been stashing the snacks earlier. He put his hand in his own bag and brought out a flashlight.

Melmarc looked from Eroms to Delano. He noticed his friend’s smile a little too late and sighed.

“We’re not going to get dinner, are we.”

Delano was laughing as he got up from his bed. “What do you think?”

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He’d told his uncle he was here to see the African museum, and hang out with his friends.

But it wasn’t entirely wrong. He was about to hang out with his friends, even if it wasn’t at the African museum.

What even counts as proof that Vlad’s a vampire? He wondered as he left his bed and started putting on his shoes. A dead body? A blood bank? A—

He saw what Delano was holding and froze.

“You brought a fucking stake?!”