“Do you mind if I join you?”
I was sitting in the outdoor seating of a bakery, enjoying an early breakfast. I figured it wasn’t going to change much if I said I minded, so I just nodded. I wondered if he would take that as yes, I minded or yes, take a seat. He took a seat.
He was tall and thin, and his face was thin as well. He almost had a sly look about him. “I am Lieutenant Alistern Craw of the Duke's Scouts,” he introduced himself.
If he were a lieutenant in the Scouts, he would have multiple sight skills. He was giving off a dangerous vibe to my senses.
“I am Marvin, but you know that.”
He nodded, “I spoke to Professor Myantha. She doesn’t know what you did in the trial. She couldn’t sense it. What did you do?”
I took a minute to let the silence linger just because I wanted to. Then I said, “I injected some aspected mana into the Trials’ mana flow.”
“How?”
“Mana Skills. How else?”
“What are the Skill’s names?”
I didn’t see a problem telling him. There must be craftspeople with these skills.
“I used Mana Disruption to destabilise the flow and then Macromana Manipulation and Mana Strength to inject new mana while it was unstable. It soon stabilised itself again, so the window was short.”
“Where did you learn these skills?”
“They appeared as options when I maxed out Mana Control and Mana Manipulation. There must be others with these skills,” I said.
“Not that I have heard of, but I will make inquiries. Why those six points?”
I described how the mapping overlay of the first and third floors led me to the six points, but I didn’t mention my intuition.
“Are these six points still there?”
“No, I checked. The Trial has changed.”
“Professor Myantha theorises that different Trials have different criteria to grow, just like our classes have different criteria.”
“Possible,” I said. “That is her area of expertise, not mine.”
“And what is your area of expertise, Marvin?” Alistern asked.
“I am a Thief.”
“So why you? Why are you finding out these things, having these skills and helping Trials to grow?”
I shrugged, “Trials have riches to plunder as well as princes.”
His eyes narrowed. Yeah, he is not dumb. He knew that was not a random example. Damn it, I don’t get to brag much.
“Would you be interested in a job with the Duke? We have other Trials we would like you to investigate.”
“No, thank you.”
“Why not? You have demonstrated competence in trials and a knack for finding key things out.”
“Two main reasons. The first is that government employees are generally not paid that well. The second is the Dukes heading into a war with the Al’verren kingdom, and that is something I want no part of.”
“You might be surprised at the opportunities the Duke provides.” Alistern said, “The Duke is also trying to avoid a war.” At my sceptical look, he continued, “The Al’verrens are all about information control regarding classes and levelling. By disseminating the truth amongst all the people, the Duke is making this a very unpalatable area to retake.”
“Unless you are a vindictive little snake of a king.”
“Even then, I would not bet against the Duke,” Alistern said.
“Of course, you wouldn’t,” I said, pointedly looking at his uniform. “I have had a run-in with the Immortals. I know their strength.”
“You had a run-in with the Immortals,” Alistern said, “Yet you are still alive and free. That should tell you something about their strength.” He stood up, “The offer is still open. Just contact the garrison here. It was interesting to meet you.”
I am not sure I wanted to be interesting to a person like that.
I pulled out a fire crystal I mined in my last delve. It was smaller than the one from the first clear, basically a large gem size. All three types of crystals are very much in demand with the crafters. New merchant stores are being set up, and different crafters are arriving. I think the town is going into another growth period because of this Trial change. It is a shame I can’t skim a small percentage off the top. I caused it.
I know I could weave wards that were empowered by these crystals if I could figure out how. That’s why I haven't sold them. There are three types of crystal: fire, shadow, and iron. I place one of each on the table in front of me.
Everybody is excited about these crystals, but they pale in comparison to the crystals from the first clear. Those have entities imbued in them, even the crystal sword. If I could work out how to use them, maybe they could cover me in a layer of hard crystallised iron. So far, they haven’t responded to anything I have done.
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The swords themselves are very hard and heavy. I have used them in some sword movements, and I find them awkward and heavy. The blades are wide and thick, and the single cutting edge is serrated. I'll leave them for now.
What I need now is a skill or skills that help my Thieving or Seeking. I am moving away from Divination skills. Danger Sense interested me, but again, it was fighting-orientated.
What am I missing to become a Seeker or Treasure Hunter? I made a list.
* Navigation and mapping: I have a Pathfinder and Maps.
* Survival Skills; foraging, hunting, trapping, etc. I am not big on it, but I am OK, and I am not wasting skill points on this.
* Physical Movement: I have Free Running, climbing, etc. I might need to learn to swim, but that is a cheap skill to learn or buy from a merchant.
* Combat and Defence: my Slayer Class has that covered.
* Traps and Hazards: my Pathfinder and Traps skills have that.
* Magic Sensing: My mana skills have that.
* Lore and knowledge: My Lore skill is helping me grow every day.
* Social and Negotiation: Again, I am not great, but my scamming history improved me there.
* Animals and Riding: Again, I am OK with riding, animal care, etc.
* Tinkering and Artifice: I am not great at repairing equipment, but it is something I can learn and not spend points on.
* Healing and Medicine: Regeneration and resistances are a start. Herbalist will also help if I level it.
* Scouting and reconnaissance: I have Farsight and stealth
I seem pretty well set up to be an explorer and treasure Hunter.
I know I am well set up as a Thief, I have been doing it since my first class selection. I make a list anyway as I will help me think.
* Stealth and Infiltration: Yes, lockpicking climbing etc. All good.
* Pickpocketing etc.: That was my first class skill as a Thief. I got quick hands when I maxed it out, but I never got Slight-of-hand, which would help with that.
* Agility and Acrobatics: Yes
* Disguise and deception: Yes, with my illusions, although my illusions can be seen through, thank you, Mister Lieutenant. I need not to neglect physical disguises. They have their place.
* Combat Skills: Slayer Class.
* Escape and Evasion: This hasn’t been a problem before. I am still alive and free.
* Street Info: I have been in this town for several months, and I have been slack. I haven’t made major contact with the criminal element yet.
* Burglary: I can get into safes and vaults and Appraise the best items.
* Magical Skills: Light and Shadow, magic detection, all tick.
* Survival: Quick thinking and improvisation. I need to keep that sharp. Herbalist is helping with my knowledge of poisons.
* Forgery and Counterfeiting: Not a strength of mine. Do I want to go down this line? I am not sure. It is an option.
* Leadership and teamwork: I have mostly been a solo operator and have worked with one-off teams. But I want to develop this skill. Being able to form adventuring parties like Myantha would be useful.
This has highlighted areas I could improve. Leadership and forming parties are probably at the top of the list. Physical Disguises are next, and I will practice subtle uses of the Spectral Cloak. I can see Tinkering and Artifice being useful and working well with Ward Weaver.
I also need to set up a training regime and shake out the cobwebs in some of these skills. There is a river, but nowhere that I can learn to swim. I will purchase a skill stone for it. If I need it and can’t do it that could be fatal.
I need to go shopping for disguises. Wigs and makeup are not easy to buy, especially in a small town like this. Clothes for different looks are easy. Putting on a pretty dress with some fake boobs can fool a lot of people. I can even add small touches like eyelashes and enhanced lips with my Spectral Cloak. It is a lot more subtle and harder to detect. I have a plan to up my game here. Thank you, Mister Lieutenant, for showing me a weakness.
I need to burgle a few places and join in a few games of chance to keep me sharp. Perhaps learn Sleight-of-hand. That should not be difficult for me.
All that is good, but it doesn’t help me select a skill. Well, it does. It eliminates some things and sets my mind in the right direction, which is non-combat.
Leadership. How do I form a party? It will be a skill, and my Lore skill is reminding me of a book in the Guild Library. Team Leader is a Profession. Leadership is a skill that enables the formation of parties and the sharing of experience. It also provided bonuses when moving and doing things as a group. You earn it by being a recognised leader and showing good leadership skills. I could buy it for two points. I would have trouble levelling it unless I showed good leadership. There was a lesser skill called Commanding Aura that only shared experience, but you couldn’t form a true party, so health, etc, was not shown, and the other bonuses were not there. It was only one point.
I should try and earn it, but that meant I needed to lead parties and develop those skills. I needed to do that anyway. Maybe I need an apprentice. What was the name of the kid who learned Keensight? He showed promise.
Tinkering and Artifice are weaknesses, but they could be a real strength with Ward Weaver. I need to learn to weave wards first. That needs to be a priority for me. I can learn some basic wards I can create quickly and possibly have some premade in my storage.
I have a plan for my training and development, but I don’t know what skill would be good.
I relook at the skill list with this new mindset.
Teleportation is worth 20 points. Moving through walls is a useful skill. I can see through walls, well, some thin walls. I have Shadow Phase, which is limited incorporeality, Ethereal Shadow is the one I can afford that will allow me to move through walls. Shadow Phase might give me a second of full incorporeality when maxed out. I am unsure of having two that are so similar. Shadow Phase would be wasted, although I guess it is not a waste as it saved my life. I put it in the Maybe column. This is why spending points in a crisis is not good.
Time Manipulation is worth 20 Points, and Time Manipulation (Minor) is worth 10 points. It enables the slowing or speeding up of time in a limited area. How does that help Treasure hunting? Slowing down an attacker has benefits. Allowing an ally to escape by speeding up time for them. Escaping a trap by slowing or speeding up time. Making an arrow go faster by speeding time for it, or a sword. That is fighting and escaping benefits. Treasure hunting? I don’t know. Could I reverse time and cure a wound? Not with a minor skill.
I think it is a cool ability, so I put it in the maybe column and definitely ahead of Ethereal Shadow. It just sounds useful. And it sounds fun.
What about a combination of lesser skills that work together? I can bend light, but I can’t mask sound or smell. Muffle Sound and Muffle Smell are both two points. Control Body Heat is Five points. That, along with my Light, is getting me really close to not being detected. Air Manipulation users could still sense me. That is why incorporeal is better. It is only really detectable with mana skills. Scratch that idea.
The Luminous Phase is the Light equivalent to the Shadow Phase. Lightform Shift is similar to Ethereal Shadow.
This is not an easy decision, but it is better to make it now when there is no pressure.