Lenia left along with the proprietress and the other female slaves who weren’t chosen. Only Aleks, Grobak, and the slave Alek’s chose remained. Aleks returned to his seat and beckoned the girl over to his side. She was clearly not happy about it, but she moved next to him anyway. Doing otherwise might get her beaten and she wasn’t sure what type of master this young man before her might be. Even if he killed her, no one would care as long as he paid the price.
“My name is Aleksandros, what is yours?” Aleks asked gently.
The young woman looked around nervously. Although before she had shown a fierce side, it wasn’t as if she weren’t somewhat afraid.
“Nelay.” She replied while gathering her courage.
“No need to be afraid, come sit beside me.”
Although Aleks seemed gentle enough, the girl wasn’t about to trust such a man. In her eyes he was clearly a wolf in sheep’s clothing. She didn’t move from her position and only stared at Aleks defiantly.
“I won’t harm you, but if you continue to refuse I will just have Grobak here force you.”
Aleks pointed at the large Orc who gave Nelay a fearsome grin. She looked over at the huge, muscular, smelly and dirty Orc and shivered. She hesitated only for a moment before finally moving to Aleks’s side and sitting on a chair next to him.
“Good, give me your hand.”
Before she could respond, Aleks had already reached for her hand and gripped it. She tried to pull away but he held it tightly refusing to let go.
“Relax, this won’t hurt.”
Once again Aleks initiated the process of respecialization. It was a similar scene as to what happened to Grobak, but this time Aleks didn’t need to spend much time with it. He had already decided on his plans for her and quickly navigated through the menus and finalized his decision.
“Tower of Babel, show me Nelay’s status.”
Name
Nelay
Class
Rogue
Assassin
Shadow Assassin
Advanced Rank
Level
30
30
30
Total Level 90
Vitality
300
300
600
Total HP 1200
Magic
0
0
0
Total MP 0
PHY. ATK
30
30
60
Total 120
PHY. DEF
30
30
45
Total 105
Agility
60
60
90
Total 210
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MAG RES
30
30
60
Total 120
Abilities
Stealth (Allows the ability user to move undetected through normal means, also hides aura for those at the same level or below, can still be detected through special means)
Rogue’s Defense (Adds half of the being’s AGI to PHY DEF but can’t be used with Rogue’s Offense at the same time)
Rogue’s Offense (Adds half of the being’s AGI to PHY. ATK. but can’t be used with Rogue’s Defense at the same time)
Double strike (When in stealth, Ability user is able to attack twice without being detected, can be used in conjunction with other offensive abilities)
Enhanced Stealth (Allows the ability user to move rapidly while undetected, also hides aura for those within the same class rank, can still be detected through special means)
Backstab (Deals damage ignoring 25% of PHY. DEF. when attacking from a flanking position or the rear, if in stealth ignores 50% of PHY. DEF.)
Rapid piercing strike (Allows for a rapid attack with a thin blade, such as a rapier or sai, that ignores PHY. DEF. but only does half of PHY. ATK. in damage)
Pierce vitals (When used in stealth and undetected, any being up to and including a class rank lower will be instantly killed)
Superior Stealth (Allows the ability user to move at full speed while undetected, also hides aura for those a full class rank above the ability user, can still be detected through special means)
Shadow Step (Allows the ability user to move in and out of shadows within a ten foot radius, can be used in succession unless interrupted, can be used in conjunction with stealth)
Crippling strike (If ability is successful when undetected in stealth, the target is temporarily unable to move or attack, can be used in conjunction with other offensive abilities)
Finesse (When active, AGI is used for both offense and defense replacing both PHY ATK and PHY DEF, Can’t be used in conjunction with Rogue’s defense or Rogue’s offense)
Fighting style
Dual Wielding
One-handed thin blades
Small throwing weapons
“Thankfully I didn’t need to pay a high cost to respecialize since she was only a mortal. Total “Soul Potential’ spent; 17,500. Not considerably more than it cost to respecialize Grobak if we take into account the level difference and the advanced class with a variety of abilities.”
The light of the soul returned to Nelay’s eyes and she slowly regained consciousness. Initially she was somewhat woozy, but it didn’t take long for her to adapt to the changes in her body. There was some disorientation between her previous self and her new self, but the system itself helped her mind adjust to the changes. It would take a short time to fully adjust and was incomparably fast compared to when he created Lenia. This was because the being retained their consciousness from their former self and only needed to become familiar with the new information pertaining to their class and abilities. This was not a long process and only took a few hours at most.
Nelay rose from her seat after regaining consciousness and kneeled before Aleks.
“Master, your servant is eager to serve.” Nelay said somewhat breathless.
With her soul having been marked with Alek’s unique soul brand, she was completely docile and no longer resisted her new role. In her heart, she felt a sense of awe and respect for this man before her. Although her personality hadn’t changed, Aleks had become something like a god to her and was deserving of all of her care and respect.
“Rise, there is no need to kneel before me. On the surface, you shall be my personal maid and your duties will be to see to my daily needs. However, this is only a cover for your true role as my eyes and ears, as well as a knife in the shadows aimed at my enemies.”
Nelay rose, her heart fluttering with both anticipation and nervousness. She didn’t allow her emotions to show and on the surface she remained cool and collected, much like a cold and aloof beauty.
“I will not disgrace you master.” She said firmly.
Grobak was surprised when he looked at Nelay. He was aware his master had respecialized her much like he did to him, but he was shocked because he couldn’t feel any aura from her at all. It was as if she was still a mortal and nothing had changed. He knew that couldn’t be the case, though.
Aleks, seeing Grobak’s confusion, mentioned casually, “She is a level 90 advanced class assassin. You are only an Intermediate class and her abilities allow her to hide her aura even from a master class being. You shouldn’t be so surprised, and as you are now, you are not her match. She could kill you easily with one strike from the shadows. You wouldn’t even know how you died.”
“Master, why am I the only one who is so weak?” Grobak growled and said in a terse voice.
“Rein in your anger when speaking to me.”
Aleks didn’t even bother to look at Grobak. However, Grobak could feel the annoyance in his voice and quickly shut up. He was frustrated only because he wanted to be stronger to better prove himself to Aleks.
“Don’t worry, soon I will also class you up. The reason why I haven’t done so yet is because there are many eyes currently on us. As for her, because of her class and level, only a Legendary being or one specializing in detection who is equal to her in strength could detect her aura. To anyone else, she will seem like a mortal and there won’t be any suspicion. Once we leave the city I have an important mission for you and at that time I will raise your level and grant you an advanced class.”
After hearing Aleks’s words, Grobak’s anger mostly dissipated and he was satisfied. Of course he was looking forward to whatever mission his master had for him which would undoubtedly involve a lot of killing. He was very much looking forward to that. He couldn’t wait to let loose his rage and shatter some skulls. He banged his fists against each other in anticipation and grunted with satisfaction.
Lenia soon returned with the proprietress and both noticed the change in Nelay’s demeanor but while Lenia was aware of the reason, the proprietress thought it quite strange.
Since when did she become so docile and subservient? She thought.
While she couldn’t understand the change in her behavior, she was happy nonetheless. She assumed that the young master before her must have said something to persuade her. Either way it was good news for her and she was happy to rid herself of such a problem.
“You two seem to be getting along just fine! I don’t know how you did it, but I am happy to see her finally accepting her place. I always told her the sooner she accepts her lot in life, the easier things would be! Now that you have purchased her, is there any other slave I could perhaps show you? I have many other fine women and even some unique merchandise to offer.”
“Not this time, but thank you for the consideration. If I ever need your services, I will send someone.”
Aleks gave his farewells as was expected of nobility and said a few more pleasantries before leaving with his entourage in tow. It was certainly a unique group, with a young and handsome, luxuriously clad man, leading a group of fierce looking misfits. They certainly looked out of place, especially the large and filthy Orc standing next to the young, lithe, and beautiful scantily clad Nelay.
Even Lenia who was grumbling while following directly behind Aleks stood out. She wasn’t even containing her aura and let her power wash out scaring several people and keeping anyone from approaching the group. It wasn’t even necessary for her to release her aura, just her glare would send anyone packing.
As for Aleks, he ignored everything and walked leisurely as if nothing else existed. His gait, was that of a man who held the world in the palm of his hands.