As I covered the distance between the two towns, a smile blossomed on my face. Partially, it was about the time this little journey took. With the new stat points assigned to the Speed, combined with the multiplier effect from my Ability, the required time was more than halved.
Still, it wasn't the utility of my enhanced movement that put a smile on my face. No, it was the joy of moving as fast as a high-powered car, with nothing but the power of my own legs. The feeling of elation was incredible.
Pity I had to slow down once I got near Town Maell.
Once I arrived in the town, it didn't take much for me to find him. Ironically, his Concealment, which was supposed to keep him hidden, actually made him more noticeable to me once I knew what to look for. A subtle sense of blurring, a call to look away, allowing me to find him instead.
He was once again on a rooftop.
"I'm guessing that's the house I asked you to purchase," I said. A bit mean, as the poor boy jumped in panic, his dagger drawn halfway before he could properly pull up.
"Yes, sir," he answered, though he failed to suppress his frustration that followed the jolt of adrenaline. A note for the future, I needed to teach him how to conceal his emotions as well. "Do you want me to give you a tour?"
"No need, I trust your tastes. Your noble education is very helpful," I said. He flinched in shock. It was a bit of a blind guess, but the glimpse I had managed was enough.
"How?" he asked, shocked and tense.
"It's the furniture that gave you away," I told him. "The arrangement is too tasteful, too elegant. It's the kind of choices someone who grew into old money would have." I explained. "Don't forget, sometimes even the subtlest detail could reveal the truth."
He looked tense, expecting me to dig deeper into his roots, maybe even try selling him back to his family.
"Let's go," I said as I turned.
"W-where?" he stammered.
"As promised, I'm going to help you level up as payment. Try to catch up," I said, and started moving. I didn't move too fast, as without the necessary stats, it would be impossible for him to follow me.
I just moved fast enough to make it challenging for him, checking his aptitude. It wasn't bad.
Slipping out of town wasn't difficult for me, and my new potential employee didn't find it particularly challenging either, his abilities helping him immensely.
Too bad his competence disappeared the instant we arrived at the woods, where the monsters walked around. He looked hesitantly toward the first attacker, and swung his dagger, only to fail to leave a decent mark. No Strength stat, I quickly realized as I swung my blade and killed the beast.
He was trying to use a basic dagger skill, which I recognized easily. But, against a beast, he wasn't particularly successful.
"Try aiming at their weak points. You don't have the Strength to deliver a more efficient hit," I said, watching him move hesitantly. "Now, follow me," I said and moved deeper into the forest.
"I-isn't it too risky?" he asked.
"Do you want to level up next to the Town?"
He looked shocked. "A-are we going to level up outside," he said. "Isn't it too dangerous?"
"Do you think I would offer it if it was dangerous for me," I countered. He nodded, surprised, and I chuckled. "But I'm an old man. I can barely protect myself. You need to defend yourself."
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I let the monsters attack him rather than wounding them for his convenience, unlike what I did back at the camp. It was another test for him. I was impressed that he was able to buy the house despite his constantly unlocked Concealment, so I was treating the hunt as the next stage of the interview.
Of course, I didn't just let all the monsters attack him at once. I let him fight against a small rat while I made sure to keep the other beasts away — killing some, and pushing away the others with subtle bursts of Charisma — to see the extent of his abilities.
He fought too poorly, which was a negative point, but nothing that couldn't be fixed. I was more impressed with his determination. He struggled and fought against the beast carefully, without a complaint, delivering slash after slash with his dagger.
Once he killed one, I let another one slip past my little web. This time, he handled it faster than I expected. "How long has it been since you absorbed that skill?" I asked.
"Two weeks," he admitted.
"And, this is the first time you're using it against the monsters." I added.
"Yes," he simply said. I didn't push further, understanding that he probably acquired it after arriving at the border. I didn't push him for answers, and instead watched him fight against the beasts. His Agility was not bad, and he was smart enough to use it efficiently. Also, from his reactions, it was clear that he also had Perception, but likely to a more limited degree.
Pity his concealment was completely useless against the beasts.
However, as I watched him fight, I started to have doubts about his level. Based on my measurement of his stats, he was likely about level twenty … but then, why was he happy with killing the smaller beasts, which shouldn't grant him more than a few points of Experience.
Curious, I focused my Charisma on him, creating a subtle connection, and stole most of the Experience of his kill.
A subtle frown passed over his face. He hid it well, but clearly, he received far less experience than he expected. Meaning, either he was level twenties like I expected but wasn't aligned with a god.
Or he was yet to reach level ten, but had a much better class than I had expected.
I was tempted to use my Charisma to question him, but I kept myself back. Forcing people to speak under coercion — magical or otherwise — was hardly a good strategy to earn their loyalty. I let it slide for the moment, and continued watching him fight for another ten minutes.
"That's enough practice," I declared as I grabbed his arm, lifting him easily before I rushed forward, moving even deeper into the forest and dragging him with me.
"W-what was that?" he asked, shocked.
"That was the end of playing around," I said, and decided to reveal a little secret. Since he had a valuable class, it was better for him to believe in my potential. I used Charisma, this time with no attempt to keep it subtle, getting the attention of the surrounding beasts, and while the monsters gathered, I passed the dagger to him. "Kill the wounded beasts," I ordered.
Then, I started moving among the attacking beasts like a cyclone of death, each hit wounding a beast until they were unable to move, whether they were small or large.
It took a while for him to start moving, amazed at my display, but he soon focused on his task and started killing the beasts. "Feel free to level up whenever you want," I said, though I maintained the Charisma connection, curious about the differences between higher-ranking classes and lower-ranked ones, wondering if I would be able to catch a difference.
"Are you sure?" he started, looking hesitant, so I moved where two large beasts were attacking together, and used one hit to kill both. "Of course you're sure," he gasped, impressed.
A glow covered his body, the telltale sign of leveling, which was supposed to be the end of it.
Then, I felt a tug on my mana.
[-52 Mana]
Then, without a warning, I found myself floating in the emptiness. Worse, I wasn't alone. I was floating next to a familiar presence. In this plane, there was no face, just energy, but somehow, I still recognized the presence of the young man I had been working with.
Only, with a far better analysis of his abilities.
I couldn't exactly read his stats like they were written, but I still had an instinctual understanding of it.
He had the Assassin class. And, while I couldn't get the exact numbers, I could sense that he had Concealment, Agility, Perception, and Vitality, with Agility significantly higher than his other Stats.
Additionally, I could sense he had two skills, both relatively inferior … and a very complicated ability that I could somehow feel it was linked to Concealment. Probably about his disappearance trick.
However, while I was analyzing his abilities in shock, I felt the connection between us reaching completion, and I found myself back in the opening.
He did as well.
A notification popped, conveniently telling me what was responsible for the current state.
[Hero Party: Member Acquired (1)]
At the same time, I could feel the thin line of Charisma connecting us transform into something stronger yet subtler at the same time, far more complicated than anything I could achieve, with many different functions.
However, rather than exploring its utility, I turned my attention to the young man, wondering if he knew what had happened. Hopefully, I would be able to mislead him about what had just happened.
"I-impossible," he said, astonished. Astonished in a way that a church-goer might have reacted if Jesus suddenly decided to descend in front of them during a ceremony.
"Y-you're the hero!"
Well, that didn't go as simply as I hoped.