Exill left Envy at the guild and headed to a nearby square where there was a secluded bench. After looking around, he summoned the Card to inspect two new jobs he had acquired.
Job Dimensionist Unlock Rejection +10 Description Unique - Tier II Active Skill [Warp] Tear into the flesh of the World and travel to places you have been before. Range increases with level.
Job Chronomancer Unlock Rejection +10 Description Unique - Tier II Active Skill [Haste] Manipulate temporal energies at the expense of your vitality and mana. Drain efficiency scales with your level
Exill drooled at the new jobs that were now available. Unlike the progressions he had encountered up till now, it appeared that he needed to increase rejection to unlock and use these skills.
Both jobs and their respective skills showed remarkable potential and he desired them greatly, but the question was where and when. Exill suspected he would be subject to tribulation, so he needed a safe, insulated place to obtain it.
He practiced restraint.
There were other things that demanded his immediate attention. [Witchdoctor] and [Mathematician] were both level 19, and would soon unlock new skills, perks or job progressions. These should be prioritized first.
As for now… he needed advice on the divination throwing bones that weren’t providing coherent answers no matter what kind of questions he asked. Now that there were two new dangerous, yet incredibly powerful jobs to unlock, he found himself in need of guidance that no one could provide. He began walking towards the East Gate, in the direction of Ham’s smithy.
Exill avoided getting too close to his former mentor’s smithy, instead, approaching it from the other side where the bakery stood, and followed a long alleyway until it split to a junction. He turned right and was soon greeted by the sight of a market square, and a familiar covered tent came into view.
The Diviner was startled to see Exill lift the tent flaps and slide in with practiced ease. Months before, the green-eyed kid had grabbed his girlfriend and left the moment she had answered his question. In one corner of her mind, she was afraid he had come to tie up loose ends. There was a peculiar aura of decay emanating from the boy.
“I did not expect to see you again.” She greeted him with one hand gripping the dagger beneath the table.
“Likewise…” He reluctantly lowered himself onto a padded cushion. His previous encounter with the woman had kicked off a series of events that could only be described as a train wreck. It was only human nature to pin a bit of resentment on the bearer of bad news, and it made sense why Diviners were maligned in some circles.
The two sat in tense silence for what felt like minutes until Exill slid ten Denars across the weathered table. He then loosened the pouch containing his runic throwing bones and placed it in front of him.
“I’m having trouble reading my future and need advice. Please check my throwing bones are functional.”
The Diviner just sat there looking at the proffered coin and ivory inscribed bones. A low chuckle escaped her lips as she accepted his tools. She channelled mana into Exill’s throwing bones then dropped them, their runes flashing blue in sequence before dissipating.
“Kid, this isn’t some kind of hobby. The bones are old but fine, so what is the advice you seek.”
“I cannot interpret any of the questions I ask the bones. Just vague images and impressions that last a fraction of a second.”
“That is normal. Have you tried asking it something mundane?... That is how we all start, something like the results of flipping a coin.”
Exill nearly slapped his forehead in embarrassment, and he fished for a coin from his pouch.
“Stop.” The Diviner plucked Exill’s coin out of his finger and flipped it instead, catching it midair in one fluid moment.
“If I had trouble reading your fate, how would a novice like you fare? Had you flipped this coin, the results would have been tied to your actions, influenced by your weave. Try and read the results now. Your fate still influenced its outcome… but it should be readable now.”
Exill channelled mana into his throwing bones until the runes glowed bright blue. He silently mouthed the question as the bones slipped through his fingers. They flashed in sequence as they hit the floor, incredibly fast but still readable.
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“Heads.”
[Ping!] The Diviner opened her hands to reveal the face of the reigning King on a large copper coin. She pocketed both of his coins and returned her hand to the dagger under the table.
“I’ll take this as a fee for your lesson. I hope you don’t return.”
He stood up, lifting the tent flaps to leave. However, a sudden thought made him hesitate and turn around, “Tell me… what you said about my companion that day, was it all true?”
The shawled woman looked up at him with hooded eyes, her clammy hand gripping the dagger tight, “You will bring her suffering and pain, boy, but as I told her then, ‘There is nothing so bad in which there is not something good.’ She will gain perspective and mature from it.”
Furrowing his brows, Exill let the flap flutter behind him, leaving the woman heaving a sigh of relief as her fingers left the dagger.
‘I’ve already brought Luna pain by driving a wedge between her and Savta. Is that part of her prophecy now complete? Would it be alright to salvage our relationship?’ Exill had no answers to those questions, and although he could now divine Luna’s future more directly, he was afraid of the answers that would reveal.
Looking up at the cloudless blue sky, he similarly cleared his mind, returning to the alleyway leading to Ham’s smithy. Under the shadows cast by the nearby buildings, he summoned the Card to inspect the new job he had obtained.
Job Diviner Level 1 Description Arcane - Tier I Active Skill [Foresight] visions last 10% longer (scales with level)
Exill grimly unassigned [Planeswalker] lvl 20 and replaced it with [Diviner] as one of his seven core jobs. It would be important to level up, as even an incremental increase in the visions length influenced their clarity. He had also learnt it would be difficult to foresee events directly related to him and would thus need to explore its limits.
It was only a theory at this point, but he suspected [Free Will] or the fact that he was a [Planeswalker] made reading his fortune difficult.
Active Jobs Tier Level Perk/Skill Warrior 1 35 +Atk speed, STR bonus Hunter 1 34 +Acc, SPD bonus Spearman 2 21 +Atk damage, [Weak Point] Ranger 2 21 +Atk speed, [Steady Hands] Monk 2 15 +Damage Resist Mathematician 1 19 INT bonus Diviner 1 1 [Foresight]
***
“Ah! You’re back!”
Luna swept her hair to the side as sweat trickled down her neck. She glanced behind Exill to check that the Vampire wasn’t there and steadied the mattress against the wall.
His doubting heart and the Diviner’s warnings melted away at the sight of the bright eyed maiden tying her silken hair into a knot.
“Were you trying to carry this upstairs all alone? You could have hurt yourself.” Exill motioned her aside and easily carried it upstairs, continuing up the ladder to the attic where he placed it in its old spot. He descended the ladder to find Luna wiping at her sweat with a towel, still flustered from exertion. Her sapphire eyes sparkled as she gingerly poked his biceps and shoulder, visibly impressed.
“Wow, you made that look easy…”
“Yeah, would you like me to heat up some water for you as well? I ran into some mud crabs, and I need to rinse off.”
Exill began to lift the mud smeared tunic over his head, revealing his well-built abs to the visible consternation of Luna. He stopped, realising that months spent with the indifferent Vampire had inured him of propriety.
“Ah… sorry. Bad habits.”
“No! I mean yes, I will heat some water for you, why don’t you get ready in your room?”
Exill nodded, and closed the door behind him, taking off his boots and equipment. Meanwhile, Luna paced in front of the fire.
‘Okay… so I will walk in there holding the washbasin, acting natural. I will offer to clean his back. Afterwards, he will turn around and say, “Let me wash you too”. Then he unbuttons my blouse, and then…’
She covered her face with both hands, surprised by her vulgar mind, then fanned her face, waiting for her blood pressure to subside. She checked the temperature of the water and removed it from the fire. Calming herself, she balanced the washbasin on one arm as she knocked – entering Exill’s room.
He sat there on a stool, back turned to the doorway in only his underwear. He glanced back to find Luna frozen in place, eyes fixed on his broad scarred back.
“Thanks, you can leave it by the door.”
“W-would you like me to help you… wash your back?” she managed to stammer, barely above a whisper.
“No that’s fine, I can handle it.”
Luna’s mind raced as precious seconds ticked by. ‘Why wasn’t it running like the simulations?’ What could she do to get events back on track?
Exill glanced back to find her still frozen in place, “Sorry that must have been heavy, why don’t you take a wash as well, your blouse is all wet.”
Luna woke up from her daze to find him standing in front of her, his chiselled form caked in filthy, dirty mud, a smudge of the foul substance smeared across his exposed clavicle. For a brief moment, she was captivated by the look of concern in his mesmerising green eyes. Exill had come to fetch the washbasin himself. She replayed what he had just said.
“Will you help me wash?” she asked, realising too late that her brain had failed her.