The defensive skills Jack had acquired felt natural to him. There was a clear difference in his movements and thought processes before and after acquiring the skills, but everything he added and practiced just seemed to compound. He could run faster, make snap decisions, and knew instinctively how to escape from someone. That didn't make him safe of course, plenty of the mercenaries were still faster and more capable than him in a one-on-one confrontation. Jack hadn't been willing to let Plexion start handing out skill levels to everyone yet, but he suspected a great many people he was practicing with had much higher skill levels than Jack.
Even aside from that, Jack suspected that his physical stats were much lower than the average mercenary. Reph and Glimm had pretty much confirmed that, telling Jack that his body hadn't been made with physical activity in mind. Even if his evasion skills were as high level as someone's capturing skills, he would almost always be outmatched in terms of body type.
Riniox had shown incredible foresight, teaching Jack things that she was very experienced in that could be easily learned. As he used them, he would find himself growing more and more used to them. Jack felt much less afraid of attacks now, but there was still an edge of nervousness whenever someone charged at him. Working with Jeler had been the most comfortable that Jack had felt, even having Riniox protecting him had been slightly nerve-wracking.
The training had consisted of evasion, learning how to be protected, and general resistances. He had been hit with weapons basic kinds of magic, fists, kicks, throws, and anything else someone could manage. Unlike other people who had to practice enough to earn skills, Jack could simply add the skill and then learn things quickly. It was kind of cheating, but Jack wanted to live. He would cheat the system if that was what it took.
Jack needed to see Deis soon, he wanted to get some input before assigning skill levels as well as work out just how much of an increase in ability came with that. In his early stat tests, blindly increasing power had caused his body to break. Jack didn't want to see a repeat with skills, a [Running] skill given too much extra juice could quickly turn lethal if it caught someone off guard.
The thought of visiting Deis and resistances reminded Jack of the [Deity Resistance] skill. Jack hadn't used the skill again since discovering it, he also hadn't been able to learn anything about the ducol who had the skill. No one had even known what a ducol was, which made learning more about the skill that much harder to do. Jack had considered asking Plexion to investigate the screen but had held off until Jack arrived there personally.
Jack was lost in thought about all of these things until Jeler came over to him. "Hey Jack, the King and Queen are looking for you. Do you want me to deflect them?" His tone was lighthearted, but Jack could tell he meant the words. Jeler would lie to royalty if Jack asked him to, it was nice if a bit scary to think about.
"No, that's alright." Jack had forgotten about the king and queen with everything going on. Well, perhaps it was more accurate to say that he wanted to forget about them. Frox had been a member of their entorage, and the idea that they had something to do with sending him at Jack kept crossing his mind. he was worried that they had tried to kill him, but he was in a better position now. He had gained some skills and he was surrounded by people who would protect him.
The King and Queen marched up, guards flanking them protectively. They looked tired like they had been busy long into the night the past two days. The Queen addressed Jack directly. "I understand that you have been quite busy so we had not approached you before now. We would like to offer our apologies for the attempt on your life. The demon called Frox was under our care and he escaped. I hope you can find the mercy in your heart to forgive us." She didn't look especially sorry to Jack. He suspected that this was nothing more than the Queen going through the motions of making a public apology. He considered being annoyed at her but decided the easiest thing to do was roll with it.
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"No apology necessary, it could have happened to anyone." Jack tried to make the words as friendly as he could, not directing any blame in their direction. However, the Queen seemed a little annoyed at that, like she had been hoping Jack would find an issue with them. "Do you know why he came after me? In his place, I probably would have tried to run away."
The Queen shook her head, "Who can know what dwells in the minds of mad men? It was our intention to let him stew before interrogating him, often the waiting does more to unnerve someone than physical torture does. If I had to make a guess though..." She leaned closer conspiratorily. "I would lay blame at the feet of the Queen of all demons. She had no lost love for the late King of all demons, but she is the type to send spies and infiltrators throughout the courts of the world. Should she come to visit, take extra precautions."
Riniox, who was standing next to Jack, eyed the Queen intensely. She seemed to disapprove of the theory but didn't speak up to rebuke the royal.
The Queen straightened up and then clapped her hands together, a smile coming to her face. "Well! Now that we have all that out of the way, we would like to extend an invitation to you, Jack, servant of the High Deity. Would you be so kind as to visit our fair city, we are prepared to offer you the height of luxury." The smile on her face was warm and kind, but it didn't reach her eyes. Her eyes were cold and calculating like she was extending this offer for gain rather than politeness.
Jack figured that inviting him to stay in their kingdom made sense for them, but he had no intention of accepting. "Thank you for the very kind offer, but I must refuse. The High Deity placed me here, and it is here that I feel the most safe. At the very least there aren't any hidden assassins among the mercenaries here."
His words had been intended as a soft joke, but the Queen practically lept at his words, hunger replacing calculation in her eyes. "You are very wise. You simply must let us regain your trust, we will make amends by leaving some of our soldiers here. Nothing too grand, a few dozen perhaps?" She spoke quickly and Jack got the distinct impression that she had been waiting for him to find some fault with her. Her response was too well planned, too quick to emerge. She wanted to keep some connection to him, leaving troops here was a good way to do it.
Riniox stepped forward. "We would be happy to house your troops at the village of Burina, your majesty. They can safely guard the entrance to the valley from there." Her expression was hard and unyielding as she spoke, clearly she didn't like the offer of troops.
The Queen looked at someone besides Jack for the first time in the conversation. Her eyes met Riniox's and her sly smile quirked slightly. "Well I think that should be up to Jack, don't you?" Her expression was cold despite her smile. Jack suddenly felt like he was a little kid between two divorced parents. The tension was palpable as they both turned to Jack.
He paused, considering the situation. He didn't really want anything to do with the Queen, but outright denying her offer could cause more problems. he liked Riniox's suggestions, accepting the troops but having them far enough away to not cause problems. Deciding to be diplomatic, he took a minute to think about it despite coming to an actual decision in seconds. "I would appreciate additional protection your majesty, but perhaps leaving the troops in the village is the better option. These mercenaries can be a rough and tumble bunch, and I would hate for an accident to happen with your soldiers."
The Queen seemed to see the excuse for what it was, a way out of this conversation. "Very well, our troops are almost all awakened at this point. We shall leave in the morning, I will handpick some soldiers to remain in Burina. Thank you for this gift, Jack." With that, she and the King bowed slightly before walking away.
Jack sighed in relief as they left. "Hopefully I don't have to talk to them again, it's so stressful."
Riniox smiled slightly at him. "Yeah, it'll be a little over a week before more royalty shows up, should give you a nice break."
Jack turned to her, laughing sarcastically before coming to a sudden realization. "You're serious aren't you?"
She nodded and Jack groaned. He really didn't want to deal with more royals and their rules and processions. But, it was part of what he had to do to survive.
Jeler looked at him enthusiastically, "Wanna do some more skill training? Could help take your mind off of things."
Jack shook his head. "I need to finish up with the soldiers, then check in with Reph, Glimm, and Dirge. I've got some system changes I want to make too, so I'll be going back to see the High Deity tonight. I've got work to do."