The rest of the day went more to plan, Jaeger bonded his rifle and then continued to practice with his weapons. His guns now used magic instead of powder, but they still fired a lead ball. Lisette found this both fascinating and frightening. Lead, as it turned out, was anti-magical in nature, making it a weakness for mages. It was also in such limited quantities that the idea of it being a ranged weapon was unheard of. His guns alone raised his adventurer rank, but his mastery of both his guns and his battleaxe cemented his status.
“You certainly have skills, and a good mix of ranged and melee is nice. Now let's see if you have any ability for magic.”
Jaeger raised an eyebrow at that.
“How are we going to test that? I don’t exactly know any magic.”
“I think these magic tattoos beg to differ. Nevertheless, I'm going to test you. I have a sensor stone, just touch it and it'll light up and tell us if you have magic, and if so, whether it's passive, active, or both.”
She pulled out a wrapped sphere and unwrapped it directly into his hands. He was surprised by its weight and warmth. It slowly began to glow white before changing to a purple color. It stayed purple and bright until Lisette wrapped it up again.
“We already knew you had magic, your weapons and tattoos show it, but now we know how to use it. You are lucky to have both passive and active magic. I don't know too much about Bounty Hunters, but I think you're supposed to be mostly passive, so this should be a nice surprise. Now I have one more thing, take it or leave it, it's an Analyze card.”
Lisette pulled out a card with a magnifying glass on it.
“The guild will compensate me for its use. What it does is it analyzes the information of a thing and then copies it. These are rare items, but I think you should use it. Jaeger, you've got mysterious magic tattoos on your arms. It's okay if you don't want to tell me what it says, but I would feel like I wasn't helping you to the fullest extent if I didn't offer it to you.”
Lisette held out the card for him to take, and Jaeger looked at it, then at her. He didn't know much about magic or trusting others, but he knew the danger of unsolved secrets and paranoia. So he took the card.
“I’ll use it, but how?”
Lisette smiled at him.
“Just hold it over your arm, over your bare skin, mind you, otherwise it will just analyze your coat. Then focus on the card and channel your magic into it.”
Nodding, he removed his coat and armor and placed them on the nearby counter before rolling up his sleeves to reveal his tattoos. Looking at them for a moment, he noticed that the chains that ended around his wrists were manacles. He took a moment to fully examine his arms, turning them over. He wanted to see the extent of the tattoos and if anything had changed. The tattoos ran all over his arms, covering him completely like a sleeve. He also noticed that the scars he'd had were still there, but the few that had caused him some lingering pain and discomfort no longer did. These tattoos didn't just imprint on his arms, they seemed to heal them.
“Cough, cough.”
Jaeger looked up at Lisette.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“Did you just say ‘cough, cough’?”
“When you're done admiring yourself, I'd appreciate it if you'd hurry up.” Lisette replied with a flushed face.
“You didn’t answer my question?”
“I’ll answer your question if you hurry up and use the card.”
Jaeger snorted before doing as she had instructed. Placing the card over his tattooed arm, he held it and pressed his magic into it. Pushing was really the only word, it was like using a muscle he never knew he had, but knew intimately. The card glowed slowly before flashing once and changing.
Where there had been a magnifying glass, there was now a pair of silver chains crossing in an infinity symbol. The information on the card was beyond anything Jaeger could have imagined.
The Chains that Bind
Chains of an unknown silver metal these are both real and unreal, created by something unknown but given for a purpose. These chains can bind anything from the lowest stone to the highest concept. The only limit is the Will of the chain-bearer.
By focusing, the chain-bearer can summon the chains from either one or both arms, and they reattach to the body unless the will to detach is present. When detached, a segment of the chain tattoo disappears from the bearer's arm(s) and remains summoned until the bearer calls it back, 24 hours without contact from the bearer, or a contested Will check by the bound breaks it. Broken chains reappear as such in the tattoo and require time or magic to repair.
These chains are bound to the soul of Jaeger Darkblade.
Upgradeable
These chains were something else entirely, Jaeger wasn't sure how a concept could be bound, but the idea was terrifying. He liked the idea of having unbreakable chains to contain his bounties, but the idea of a test of Will was worrying. Mainly because he didn't know how that would happen, he wasn't too sure what Will meant either. He hesitated, but finally decided to trust Lisette.
“I need an explanation of this skill, but first what is Will?. Why’s it emphasized like it’s a unique thing?”
“Without reading the card I assume Will is probably a specialized stat. If it’s not on your stat sheet then it might be a hidden stat, which is more esoteric.”
He handed the card to Lisette and waited for her to read it. She smiled as he handed it to her, but her expression slowly changed as she read the card. She glanced around for a moment before handing the card back to him.
“Don’t show this to anyone, and when we’re done talking, I’ll show you how to erase it, and then you can keep the card. I'll even show you how to use it.” With a faint smile, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. “Alright so Will is definitely a hidden stat. I’m sorry I can’t tell you more. Jaeger, these chains of yours are a personalized unique ability. That means no one else can use it or has it. It was made for you and its potential is world changing.”
“There are gods, demons, and beings of unfathomable power abound in this world, Jaeger. No one but another being of their power can challenge them, not until now. What you have here now is the power to bind gods, demons, heavenly cultivators, and eldritch things. But what it is now is only potential. Potential that any of the beings I mentioned would kill you to make sure never grows.”
“Then I have to pretend that the chains are something weaker. Right?”
“Thank the gods that you understand. Yes, use the chains of course, do some bounty hunting or some adventuring with them. Chain people and monsters or whatever, but never reveal how strong they are. Unless your life is in danger, do not use them on anything much stronger than you. I'll falsify some reports and have it written that the chains are an inherent magical item. Outworlders always come here with something weird, and while you having three things will raise some eyebrows, your class of bounty hunter will explain the chains.”
Lisette had worked herself into an agitated state. Slowly she relaxed; Jaeger, on the other hand, had taken it for granted. He had something that people more powerful than him would kill to make sure he didn't; it was no different than when he first got Ventress. He would just have to do what he had done then. Get strong enough so that no one could bother him.