Chapter 5: Arriving at Bloyde City
The next day saw me dozing in the carriage while considering my Status screen. We had come back to the estate late at night, and had left at dawn, so I was sleeping some more now. The one thing I never skimped on was my sleep. In any case, I was facing a dilemma, one that had been plaguing me for some time now, ever since I had gotten the Achievement Mana Attuned, in fact. After I had gotten it and the System Point it rewarded, I had gotten a prompt from the system saying that the Locked System Store was open for me. According to the prompt this store was available for people who managed to earn at least 1 System Point before their Unlocking. For those who had yet to Unlock, buying Abilities from the System was different. You could buy a random Tier 1 ability for 2 SP, or a Random Tier 2 Ability for 10 SP. I was also told that because I was a “Chaotic Influence”, I had the option of buying another Revive for 10 SP. I didn’t know what a Chaotic Influence was, although I suspected it was just the System’s way of calling reincarnates.
The time of my unlocking was unknown, and it could happen suddenly at any time. This meant that the more I waited, the more the chances of me losing access to this store increased. But I also believed I could still gain more SP from Achievements. Which begged the question, Should I wait and try to save for either a random Tier 2 Ability or another Revive or buy as many random Tier 1 Abilities as I could.
I knew from my grandfather that the cheapest Tier 1 Ability cost 10 SP, and the cheapest Tier 2 Ability cost 50 SP. Since a Revive was being offered for 10 SP, it would also hopefully be offered for 50 SP after I Unlocked, but I had no way of knowing.
I had shared the knowledge about the store with my father and grandfather, without mentioning the revive, and they had said I shouldn’t wait for a Tier 2 Ability, since the risks outweighed the potential benefits by far. This was likely what I would do if not for the option to buy a revive.
I mulled over the options, considering them and various scenarios. I was tending towards listening to them, but the thought of giving up another Revive was hard.
Tonight, we stopped to camp in the woods. We could have stopped in a city, but my father and grandfather wanted me to experience camping outside. Mother complained about the cold and how uncomfortable it was, but some consoling words from father calmed her down. As night fell, Jessica and Olek, a retainer who was a skilled tracker and woodsmen, and I headed into the woods to train. We practiced stealth and tracking, and I shot down two rabbits and a hare that we found. I got no experience, since I was locked, but it was good training.
As we were heading back to camp for dinner, a large black raven suddenly plunged from the sky, cawed at me, and then settled to stand on my arm as I held it forward.
“Luna! What are you doing here?” I asked, grinning as I lightly pet her feathers with my free hand. Luna didn’t answer, naturally, but we had been bonded for 2 years now, and Luna, having grown with me from her birth, was very smart, and was able to send me slight images and impressions through our bond. Although my taming and animal care skills had stopped advancing lately, because I had not yet Tamed another animal after reaching level in the skill 10 and becoming a Beginner, bonding and raising lune had been a treat. She was all black, quite big for a raven, and very smart.
My father taught me that bonded animals were slightly affected by the Abilities of their tamers, and that this effect was magnified if the animal was already bonded when it grew up. Lark, my father’s raven, was bigger and stronger than other ravens his level because of my father’s Large Warrior Ability. He was also much higher leveled than other ravens, of course, since he had adventured for a long time with my father.
Luna trained with me every day – while I was training melee combat skills, she would fly around us and train her speed, exhausting her stamina. She would also train her constitution by having me lightly hit her with my hand. Unlike me, Luna wasn’t experience locked, and was therefore already level 4 from hunting around our estate. She was also clearly benefiting a lot from my Abilities, and I couldn’t wait to Tame more Animals. The reason I hadn’t Tamed another beast was that I was very specific in what I wanted. Although I liked Luna a lot, she was still an ordinary Raven at the end of the day. I wasn’t willing to compromise on my second Tamed beast, so grandfather had been searching for something that met my expectations for a while now, and until he succeeded, I would simply have to wait.
My grandfather had told me not to take Luna with me to the celebration, as we didn’t want to reveal that I had already Tamed her. The original plan had been for her to join me in the city in a week, after the celebrations were over and when I would be under less observation, which was why I was surprised to see her now. She communicated to me that she had only come to say hello, and that she remembered the original plan. I moved her over to my shoulder, and after explaining her presence to Jessica and Olek, we continued back to the camp.
***
As we drew closer to Bloyde city, I kept staring out of the window, waiting for it to come into sight. Although Argold city had been nice, in the grand scheme of things it was a small, unimportant city. Bloyde city, on the other hand, was one of the largest cities in the kingdom, with over 200,000 residents. Hardly a huge number compared to the cities of earth, but it was still big. It was surrounded by a large stone wall, 20 meters in height with towers interspersed every 500 meters or so. As we neared the city, I saw that we were heading to a large gate and before it was a large line of people waiting to enter the city. As we got close, some of our guards and retainers stepped forwards and announced our presence, clearing the line for us. For someone who came from earth this might be a strange, uncomfortable occurrence, but I had gotten used to this kind of behavior, and even started to enjoy it. In this world, nobles didn’t wait in lines.
We drove through the gates and the streets, until we reached a large castle in the middle of the city. Most of our retainers left us to head to our estate, while some stayed to accompany us as we paid our respects to the duke. The whole thing was quite boring, really. My father, mother, grandfather and I entered the main hall of the duke together with some guards. After some talk between my father and the duke, we went to our estate to rest. The celebrations will be happening tomorrow night.
After dinner, I again went out with Jessica, although this time we were joined by another two men who were both Professional Rogues, for extra protection. Grandfather and Jessica were much more worried now that we were in a bigger city, and with all the nobles arriving as well, it was better to be careful. This was why we were joined by the other two men, and also why I wouldn’t be training with Jessica. Our purpose tonight was instead for me to meet someone, who grandfather didn’t want me to meet with publicly. I was wearing a large cloak with a hood that hid my figure, and was told to Act scared and unsure when we reached our destination.
Jessica led me to a small rundown building in the poorer area of the city, where she knocked in a specific pattern on the door. The door was opened by a large, menacing man with a cudgel on his belt, which my identify showed was level 15 and an apprentice of the Mace skill. A huge opponent for me, but nothing compared to Jessica or my other retainers. I had been expecting more after all the effort just to meet whoever this was and was slightly surprised. Jessica entered and I followed her, while the other two stayed outside. Jessica nodded to the man, and without a word led me through the small building, down a flight of stairs, to a door that she knocked on.
“Come in” a voice said from within.
Jessica opened the door, and I followed. Inside was a small office, with a simple desk in the middle, behind which sat a small, unassuming man. Jessica moved to stand at the corner of the room, and I hesitatively removed my hood. Inspect returned only question marks when I used it on the man. This had only happened to me when Inspecting my father, which meant this man was at Tier 2. I was suddenly much more cautious.
“Rainer, come, sit down. It’s time we finally met.” I glanced at Jessica, and after a reassuring nod stepped forward and settled into the chair.
“My name is Vesper, and it is good to finally meet you. Around 30 years ago when I was quite young your grandfather saved my life and gave me an opportunity to live a better one. I traveled with him for a bit, and had a large hand in helping him remake the Argold Trading Firm. Eventually, around 15 years ago, I stopped directly helping your grandfather’s business, and founded the Black Rose, which I am still running to this day. The Black Rose is an information broker, with various branches in most cities in our kingdom, and lately even outside of it, that sells and finds information to anyone who is willing to pay us. Apart from me, only a select few trusted ones know that we report to your grandfather. I myself am a Master of stealth and daggers, and also a journeyman of Dark Magic and a few other skills, which is what allows me to head such a powerful organization. Now, I asked to meet you here for a couple of reasons. First, I just wanted to meet you, as I have heard quite a lot about you. Second, I was thinking of teaching you some stealth and daggers while you are here in the city. I am known in some circles, which is why I didn’t want us to meet outside in the daylight, but at night with me and Jessica accompanying you, it should be fine. I know that was quite a lot of information to just dump at you, so ask the questions you no doubt have, and then we can start your training.”
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I had a lot of questions after all the information he just dumped at me. We talked a lot about the Black Rose as an organization, its members, and structures, and then I asked him some questions about various nobles in the kingdom to test what he knew, and what it would have cost me to learn this. I was amazed by the knowledge and reach of the organization, and by its high prices as well. After we finished, I asked Vesper to do something for me.
“Vesper, I would like you to have the Black Rose keep an eye out for children my age who show signs of having powerful abilities like I do. Recruit them if possible, and if not just keep tabs on them.”
“Oh?” Vesper raised an eyebrow at my strange request, “And why, pray tell, are you interested in this?”
“Grandfather has often emphasized the need for powerful and loyal retainers. If I can meet them when we are both young, it will make it easier to nurture their loyalty and train them.”
“Hmm… Very well, I will pass the order down. We keep track of talented individuals in any case, but not ones as young as you.”
I nodded, glad that he hadn’t questioned me more. I hadn’t forgotten Sylas telling me to look for others like me, and this seemed like a very convenient way to do it.
As we walked by the man guarding the door on our way outside, I remembered my earlier surprise. Once we were outside, I asked Vesper.
“Vesper, why do you have such a weak man guarding the building? From what you told me the Black Rose has many men who are much more suitable.”
“This isn’t the Black Rose.” Vesper answered with a chuckle,” It’s the abandoned headquarters of The Black Skull, a weak and unsuccessful gang. I use the building sometimes for meetings, and the guards have no idea who I am. I didn’t want to bring you to the actual headquarters of the Black Rose. Bringing a child there is just asking for trouble."
"Now come, we’ll be practicing in the alleys around here, since it’s relatively quiet for the slums. I’ll start by seeing your Stealth, and we’ll continue from there.”
Vesper led the way with me after him, and Jessica followed around 20 meters behind us, while the two men who came with us spread out to the rooftops and followed from our sides. Vesper and I walked through the dark alleys and streets, and I constantly focused on staying silent and unseen. After a couple of minutes watching me, Vesper started correcting small things in my form and how I placed my body to make less sound. After he seemed satisfied with my improvements, he removed from his cloak four wooden daggers, and gave me two of them. They were very simple in design, something a novice woodworker could likely make.
“Now, you keep sneaking through the streets, while I sneak around you and try to hit you with the daggers. Block me when you see me attacking you, and if you spot me beforehand feel free to attack with the daggers. Magic is allowed, but nothing flashy so we don’t attract any unnecessary attention.”
We started the exercise, and I was instantly dumbfounded. My own Stealth skill was only level 34, which wasn’t even journeyman, but I was still able to do things that on earth would have been completely impossible, happening only in movies. I had thought Jessica was impressive with her ability to disappear, but Vesper made us both look like bumbling buffoons. A split second that I wasn’t paying attention, a small distraction from his dagger slashing at me, or just more than a couple meters distance between us in the dark, shifting alley, was enough for him to completely disappear. He was completely silent, not even the sound of his cloak flapping in the wind was heard, and his movements were incredibly graceful. I was completely unable to spot him before his daggers hit me, and even when he slowly reduced the skill he was using, and I was sometime able to spot him as he attacked, he still easily slid his daggers through all my attempts to block him. The most impressive part of this was that he didn’t use his attributes to so completely defeat me, instead limiting himself to my strength and speed.
I was completely humbled, and felt momentarily crushed by how much I still had to improve. As we continued, he slowly decreased the skill he showed in both stealth and daggers until he was just at the edge of my ability to spot and react, and then the training truly started. Where before he had been gently tapping me with the daggers, now he was truly hitting me, and I started to take damage. Desperate, I turned to magic to help me. None of my normal spells would work, as he wouldn’t give me the time necessary to cast them. While I had practiced to continue casting while in combat, that was mainly while moving and dodging and blocking with a shield, not when getting hit with a dagger.
This meant I was left with the 5 spells I had mastered with Quick Cast. I started with casting Night Vision on myself, which slightly improved my vision and did indeed make it easier to see him. He caught onto the change quickly though and increased the skill he was using in his stealth accordingly. Then I cast Haste on myself, to which he also responded by simply increasing his speed. I was feeling truly beaten now. I turned to my other spells. Light ball and Light lance would make too much light for our exercise, which meant I was left with only the summon Vineling spell. I cast it to my right and ordered it to protect me from that side.
In response, Vesper limited his attack to only my left side, and the next 3 times he attacked me I managed to spot and block him in time. Then, he suddenly hit me from the right, and cursing as I twisted to fend him off, I realized it had all been a ruse. My Vineling was completely unable to spot and attack him before he could hit me and retreat. Eventually, after around half an hour my stamina was running out and we took a break. Vesper wasn’t even sweating. We talked for a bit about what I could do better while my stamina recovered before we continued our training. We did this another 3 times before we eventually returned to the room we met in.
“Well Rainer, I was very impressed by you tonight. I know you may feel disheartened by the gap between us, but don’t let it keep you down. It would have frankly been embarrassing if I hadn’t been able to toy with you like that. I had been told previously that you have a large range of skills, but I was still very surprised. You have the Perceive skill, I believe? A very useful one. And also, your ability to nearly instantly cast those spells. You used some kind of haste and Night Vision, right? Apart from the Vineling obviously. Are you capable of doing that with more spells?”
“Yes, I can also do it with the Light spells Light Ball and Light Lance but chose not to use them to not attract to much attention to us. I can also learn more over time. It’s a Skill.”
“A mighty skill indeed. Make sure you give that the attention it deserves. It is a very powerful trump card. In any case, I hope the training was fruitful for you, as we likely won’t be able to meet in this capacity again until the celebrations for the duke’s son are over. We still may meet in an official setting though, as my public identity is Knight Hassan, one of Count Mountsire’s knights. If we do meet, make sure to act as if you don’t know me. Now, unless you have something else to discuss with me, Jessica will lead you back to the estate.”
“Goodnight Vesper” I said as I rose from my chair, “ And thank you for the training. I look forward to meeting you again after the celebration is done.”
“Goodnight Rainer, take care.”
***
After we reached the estate, the maids quickly bathed me, and I headed to sleep. As I lay in bed, I summoned my status and marveled at the advancements I had made tonight. Practicing with a master really made your skills level fast, and it had also shown me just how powerful stealth was. Even without his extreme skill in daggers, I had been absolutely helpless against him.
The effects of Skills on other beings were generally affected by many things beyond just skill level. For example, although my Axe skill level was above 45, and the man who was guarding the door to the abandoned headquarters had only had maces at level 27, if we were to fight physically, he would have undoubtedly beat me, because he had significantly higher attributes. He would have hit faster and stronger than me, tired slower, and any time I did manage to hit him his constitution would weaken some of my blow. While understanding the effects of attributes on physical combat skills was quite simple, their effect on stealth was more complicated.
Stealth was, surprisingly, similar to social skills in this regard. While the physical attributes did play a role in helping you remain unnoticed, Charisma actually played a much bigger part. Apart from just making you more charismatic and likable, Charisma governed the strength of your Presence, and your control over it. According to the books I had borrowed from Grandfather, it was nothing like the “Aura” in the western cultivation books I had read that could be wielded as a weapon, but was instead a much more subtle thing. It allowed leaders to appear more impressive and commanding, traders to appear more convincing and truthful, and rogues to hide their presence completely. This was not something that could be directly trained, but instead something that you had to develop along with your skill as you leveled it, especially in the higher skill levels.
There were four things that made someone’s stealth less effective on you. The first was having a high-level stealth skill yourself. Part of it was just that knowing what you would need to do the remain unseen and silent made it easier to spot others doing it, but it was also some kind of hidden system assistance. Similarly, having a high level in the Acting skill, for example, would make it easier to spot others Acting.
The second way was increasing Wisdom. Wisdom affected magical resistance, and it also had some effect against stealth, spotting illusions and hidden things, and most social skills. The third way was having a higher level than the person who was using stealth. The higher the level difference, the harder it will be to hide from you, and being a Tier higher made it even harder. It didn’t work the other way though, so a higher level didn’t make it easier to hide. The last was just a general group of things that could help, like enchanted items or my Perceive skill.
This meant that I had almost no bonuses to detecting Vesper, especially with my Perceive skill still in the novice ranks. On the other hand, I had probably been completely visible to Vesper when I was using stealth. I had learned all of this information from a small book my grandfather had written about social skills and had let me read, and it had also explained why my grandfather had so easily called me on my lie two years ago about my abilities. At the time my Acting was only level 8 and he was an Apprentice, which meant at least 17 skill levels above me in acting, probably more than 20 levels than me. He had definitely had much more wisdom than I had Charisma, and as such a successful trader it was possible he had some enchanted item that helped somehow in social situations. I had had no chance at hiding anything from him.
The good news, though, was that I would also be good at detecting others in stealth and fighting their social skills once I grew up. I would be raising my Stealth and Social skills through training, my Wisdom for magic and with Attribute Affinity, and I had the Perceive skill. This was very reassuring, because today had truly scared me and showed me the enormous power of Stealth. I settled off to sleep with dreams of sneaking around my enemies, killing them and stealing all their riches while they were confused, earning incredible achievements from the system and a ton of skills and levels.