Chapter 7
The rising sun finds me outside meditating, thinking about the past two days and practicing my magic. So far I have been focusing on the light, air, and fire elements and am at a point where I feel comfortable using them. My martial arts training has also been going well. Autumn and I have settled on a routine of 4 hours of training in Autumn’s soul home, and 3 hour of practice in the real world with my enchantments. For the past two days I have almost been training nonstop, with the only exceptions being sleep and a few conversations with Albert. Those few conversations have been very enlightening though.
One of the things I learned from talking with Albert is the reason spells exist. Originally I questioned why there were spells when you could just free form what you want. The reason is that it becomes easier to do a spell the more often you cast it, in addition to costing less mana. So if I cast a fireball spell over and over, that spell would cast quicker, with less focus, and have a cheaper mana cost. Apparently most magicians take advantage of this and have a few “signature spells” that they practice and use the most, causing their signature spells to be more efficient and powerful than normal. I haven’t decided on what kinds of spells I would make my signatures, or even if I want to have any.
Another thing I learned is that the reason enchanted items are so rare and expensive is because of the sheer mana and focus required to make them. Yeah, in comparison to inscriptions it is way easier to learn to enchant, but you have to have complete focus. If you slip for even a second, the mana for the enchantment will burst out of your control. Consider the fact that a common enchantment requires the full mana of three average magicians being used simultaneously and the amount of mana released basically turns into a large bomb. It is really dangerous for most magicians and those that can do it easily are usually archwizards who have better and more useful things to do.
So in short, I am going to end up being a jack of all trades until I can find more enchantments to absorb and better define a path.
Albert: Today is the day Tobias.
I turn to find Albert walking out of the house to join me.
Albert: Lord Endos should be coming today. Are you prepared?
Me: As much as I can be. I can always wish for better circumstances, but they won’t change. May as well focus on using what I have to the best advantage.
Albert: I know I made you promise to kill him, but I didn’t give a time limit. You can always wait until after you have trained some more.
Me: And leave you to whatever plans Endos has in mind? No thanks. I said I would do my best to save your family too, and I meant it.
He gives me a sad smile.
Albert: Thank you.
He sits down with me and we wait for the coming visit.
Albert: By the way, I finished compiling my research. Here.
He hands me a large book. Damn, this thing is huge. Not only is it thick, it is about the same length and width of a laptop, like one of those big atlas books you find on a pedestal in a library. I open it up and start skimming through the contents. Wow, this is ALL his research. Not only are there recipes and instructions for making homunculus, but all of his alchemic knowledge and recipes. I could probably teach myself alchemy just from this book alone. Even better is the inscription knowledge towards the back of the book. This is basically the holy grail in crafting skills and knowledge for me right now.
Me: Wow, Albert, this is amazing. I can’t believe you are just giving this away to me.
Albert: Eh, I know it all already and you will need it to help advance your body. Besides, if I survive this I think I am done with alchemy. I will take my wife and daughter away and start a business in inscription. I sure know enough to make good money.
Me: You will make it Albert.
He gives me another sad smile as he stands up.
Albert: I hope so. I hope you make it too.
He goes back inside as I put the book in my pocket dimension and move on to martial arts practice. Two hours later I hear someone approaching and I head back inside to warn Albert. We both head back out and wait in front of the door. A few minutes later we see a man coming out of the woods surrounding the clearing. I am incredibly confused. Not only is there only one guy, he definitely doesn’t look like a lord. Honestly he looks more like a rogue type. He is wearing dark leather armor and a black hooded cloak, carrying two large sacks on his back.
???: Hey, you Albert?
Albert: Who are you?
Wait, Albert doesn’t know him either?
???: Names Shiv, I was sent by Lord Endos to train some runt. I assume that’s you?
And such a pleasant guy. Well, at least we know he is from Lord Endos. But train me?
Me: Yeah, but train me in what? And where is Lord Endos?
Shiv: Ah well, train ya to be an assassin. And he is *ahem* “unfortunately indisposed at the current moment in time, and will deign to visit in one month’s time.” Pansy bastard, but he pays well so here I am. Don’t know why I am training you though. He shoulda just gave me the job. Here.
He tosses the one sack at me.
Shiv: Told that one is for you, courtesy of the lord. Why you need that many enchanted items?
Oh boy. Did he say enchanted items?! I quickly check the sack. Indeed he did say that. I see a bunch of weapons, jewelry, and equipment in there and the sack itself is a bag of holding. This is awesome!
Albert: Were you not informed as to the nature of who you are training?
Shiv’s eyes sharpen and he looks us up and down.
Shiv: No, you look like a scholar and you both look like brothers.
Me and Albert share a glance. Looks like he is going to let me take the lead on this. I may as well tell Shiv, especially if he is going to be training me for a month.
Me: I am a homunculus.
Shiv: What?!?!
Me: And you are training me to kill the Grand Magus.
Shiv gives us both a much more attentive look.
Shiv: Shit. Ahhh, shit. This is bad. I don’t think I like where this is going.
Me: Well, that at least makes three of us. Any chance you would break contract?
Shiv: Damn! No. No wonder that sneaky bastard wanted a sealing contract. Damn him!
Shiv decides to pace and go on an impressive rant of cursing. This is quite the informative class on gods and goddesses. I keep watching while I ask Albert a question.
Me: Albert, what is a sealing contract?
Albert: It’s a contract that uses blood to bind the people in the contract to follow the contract. If anyone breaks the contract, they take an incredibly painful backlash and are magically marked as contract breakers. As you can imagine, that mark is very hard to remove and most people shun contract breakers.
Me: Ouch, that sucks. Oi, Shiv! Why would you sign a contract like that?
Shiv: Because it was just a training contract! And he paid an extra half of the normal pay just for the contract! Said you were a downright disagreeable ass and I might be tempted to leave. Damn you Fortune!
Me: Hey! Don’t be cursing Fortune, she is a great goddess.
You have gained a Minor BlessingFor the next 12 hours, your luck is doubled.
I send a quick mental thanks to Fortune hoping she hears it. Hot and generous, I think I know who I am praying to.
Me: So what now, Shiv?
Shiv: Argh! Fine, I’ll train you. But I will definitely get back at that bastard!
Me: Glad to hear it. We are planning on doing that too. Only with a little more “knife in the throat” and maybe some disembowelment.
Shiv: You gonna kill him? HA! Now that is something worth training you for! Now what’s the deal with the bag of stuff?
Me: Hmm, well can you keep it secret?
Shiv growls a bit at me.
Shiv: You gonna make me sign a contract to keep it secret?
Me: No, it is just that it is a special ability of mine that I would rather keep secret. You are going to find out anyways if you train me. It is just a matter of if I tell you or make you figure it out.
Shiv: Ah, then yeah, I’ll keep your secret. As long as there isn’t torture involved.
Me: I can eat the enchantments and use them later.
Shiv gives me this look of disbelief.
Shiv: You’re shitting me.
I reach into the bag and pull out a sword and absorb it.
Enchantment AbsorbedYou now have access to the enchantment:
LOW increase to damage (lightning)
I raise up my fist as sparks start dancing across my skin.
Shiv: You are not shitting me. Right then. I am just gonna go sit over there and stare at the sky for a bit.
He wanders over close to the tree line and just flops down and stares up at the sky. Interesting coping mechanism I must say, just sitting down and processing things. Albert decides that the situation is fine and goes back inside. I decide to deal with the new stuff. First I turn off the lightning enchantment. Then I dump out all the things in the bag and absorb them all, then pull up the enchantment manager menu.
Active Enchantments3/10EnchantmentModifierAffinityStrength Increase10%2%Speed Increase21%2%Night Vision*0%1%Damage Increase (Fire)10%1%Health Regeneration18%3%Dimensional Pocket*200%3%Mind Bond*0%3%Variable Weight*0%1%Damage Increase (Lightning)17%1%Regenerative Ammunition*0%1%Anti Scrying*0%1%Magic Defense Increase17%1%Damage Increase (Ice)13%1%Silent Movement*0%1%Mana Efficiency Increase15%1%Extend Reach*0%1%Sharpness*0%1%Dexterity Increase9%1%
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
I then pull up the additional information for the unfamiliar enchantments.
Regenerative AmmunitionAmmunition put in this container are replaced when removed. Can replace ammunition at a rate of 1 unit per second. In order to remove the ammunition without replacement, dump it out. Then replace with the ammunition to be regenerated. Cannot regenerate magical ammunition or ammunition using high mana density materials.
Anti ScryingWhile active, you cannot be targeted by magic that is designed to identify information about you. High level magic and divine magic may overcome this effect.While active, you cannot be targeted by magic that is designed to identify information about you. High level magic and divine magic may overcome this effect.
Magic Defense IncreaseYou have a higher resistance to negative magic effects. Damage you take from magic is reduced and the chance of being afflicted with a magical affliction or negative status effect is reduced.
Silent MovementEquipment you wear does not make noise from movement and your footsteps are silent. Does not affect other sounds you make or sounds cause by your equipment due to collision effects.
Mana Efficiency IncreaseYour use of mana is more efficient causing you to use less mana to gain the same effect.
Extend ReachExtend the reach of your attacks with the enchanted object. Can be suppressed at will by the owner. Maintains the original motion of the attack, i.e. slashes will be extended slashes and stabs will be extended stabs.
Current Maximum Extension: 5 feet
SharpnessThe enchanted object is always sharp and does not need sharpening. Only effective on edges.
In addition I gained 10 cubic feet for my pocket dimension and another boost to speed. These enchantments are definitely awesome. I so am going to pray to Fortune from now on.
I get ready to practice with my new enchantments and update my enchantment sets, but it looks like Shiv is all better now. He walks on over to me.
Shiv: Alright, that enchantment thing you do. I will leave time for you to practice with it, but don’t go using it while I am training you. We want to train your base level.
Me: In case you don’t know, I can’t physically train. Wait, let me rephrase that. I can physically train, but I won’t get any stronger or faster by doing it. I can still learn the movements and the skills though.
Shiv: What? Why.
Me: It’s a homunculus thing. My body is stuck as it is and can’t grow.
Shiv: Damn. That makes this a little harder. Well whatever, we will figure it out. To start off, what do you know about assassins?
Me: They use stealth, skill, and sometimes tools, in order to kill a target as efficiently as possible.
Shiv: That pretty much covers the basics. There are different kinds of assassins and most trained assassins end up taking a sub class that supports their style.
Me: Wait, how do subclasses work? For that matter, how do classes work to?
Shiv: You don’t know about classes? What, were you born yesterday?
Me: Four days ago, actually.
Shiv: Wait, seriously?
Me: Yeah.
Shiv: How…is it a homunculus thing?
Me: It’s a homunculus thing.
Shiv: Right. Alchemy is weird. So, classes. A class is a general path you follow in order to better yourself. Kinda vague, I know, but there are LOTS of classes, for everything under the sun. Most classes share two things though. First, a class increases the benefit you get from training for certain attributes associated with the class, called a growth rate. For example, an assassin gets a decent boost to dexterity growth rate and a slight boost to intelligence growth rate. Unfortunately for you, that dexterity growth rate won’t do you shit. Luckily, you can change classes as long as a month has passed since you picked your current class.
He pulls a knife from nowhere and starts twirling it across his fingers.
Shiv: The second thing is certain abilities that come with the class. The abilities are usually something that exemplify the way a class works, and most classes have one or two abilities, with a few having three. Assassins get one. It’s called “Stealth” and it merges your hide and move silently skills into a single skill called stealth. Real handy that one is. You following?
Me: Yeah, I follow.
Shiv: For you, I recommend picking a different class after all this is done. When you switch classes, you lose the growth rate and some of the abilities, but you keep the training gains you already did and some abilities. For assassin, you would keep the intelligence gains you will get and the Stealth ability, and pretty much lose nothing for switching.
Shiv: Right, so on to secondary classes. Basically, where a class is a general path, a secondary class is the specifics. All sorts of secondary classes exist for all sorts of specifics. But the difference is that secondary classes don’t come with growth rates. On the flip side, they usually come with special abilities or unique skills. Mine is Shadow Knife. It lets me go invisible if I’m in deep shadow and I can jump from one shadow to another. Neat, right?
Me: Definitely. So how do I get a class?
Shiv: Most classes you just need someone to give you a quick training session on it and then you can pick it up. Some have special requirements though, like a certain race or certain abilities. For example, there is a class called Scale Dancer that you have to have the blood of something with scales in you to get. But best we get started, almost noon.
Shiv motions me forward and tosses me the knife he was twirling while pulling out another.
Shiv: I’m gonna show you how to hold a dagger, and how to get a good stab in with it. Then I will show you some weak points humans have and how to exploit them. After that, you should get the class.
He shows me both a normal and a reverse grip, and how to strike with both grips. Next he shows me where to strike to hit the heart, lungs, and kidneys for maximum damage and lethality. That all only takes two hours before I get a prompt.
You have gained access to the class: Assassin
Do you wish to accept this as your class?
If you choose yes, you will not be able to change your class for 30 days.
If you choose no, you must fulfill the requirements again in order to gain access again.
YESNO
You have the primary class: AssassinYou have gained the ability: Stealth
DECENT increase to benefit gained from training in DEXTERITY
SLIGHT increase to benefit gained from training in INTELLIGENCE
StealthThe skills “Hide” and “Move Silently” have been merged into the single skill “Stealth,” and “Stealth” skill level have been increased to match the cumulative skill levels of “Hide” and “Move Silently.”
Any actions which would normally use “Hide” or “Move Silently” now use “Stealth.” Any actions, abilities, or effects that would normally apply to “Hide” or “Move Silently” now apply to “Stealth.” Any time you would normally gain experience with “Hide” or “Move Silently” you now gain experience with “Stealth.”
Shiv: You got it?
Me: Yeah.
Shiv: Alright, then we are done for today. I am going to go inside and get settled in and set up. We will start seriously tomorrow morning an hour after dawn.
Shiv heads on into the house and I move onto testing the new enchantments. I decide to add the Anti Scrying and Mana Efficiency increase enchantments to my normal enchantment set. I would add the silent movement too, but I will save it until after I am done training with Shiv. Unfortunately, there isn’t much I can do with the regenerative ammunition yet, so I focus on the extend reach and two new damage enchantments by infusing them into my sword.
Sure enough, it works. I can punch and kick from five feet away now, but I noticed that it still feels like I am hitting it normally. So when I punch a boulder, like the excited nit that I am, it hurts.
She sounds pretty amused.
She sounds even more amused. I can almost hear faint laughing.
Yup, full blown laughter now. I am just going to ignore that and move on. I test the mana efficiency enchantment and I can tell the difference, it is going to be especially helpful in prolonged fights. Next I test if I can have all my damage elements active at the same time and it turns out I can’t. When I try and put all of them on, I only get the lightning one and it forcibly deactivates the others. So it is probably a case where the highest bonus is the one used.
I spend the next hour practicing with the darkness element, since I will be doing assassin training for the next month. After my four hours of training in Autumn’s soul home, I move on to my three hours with enchantments running. Finally, as the sun sets I head back in to prepare for tomorrow morning and assassin training.
[A.N. Thanks for reading! If you notice any errors please let me know in the comments. In regards to Shiv’s language, there may be characters here and there who curse like that but generally speaking I will only use cursing as expletives, not part of common conversation.]