The next morning I wake up and head to get breakfast. Heading to the jail cells to talk to the would-be assassin while I eat. Entering the room I notice many scratch marks around the cell doors lock. It appears that her hands were too small to loop around the door and pick the lock… If she would have woken me up again or caused problems… It is actually good to learn, two people have attempted to break out of the cells. Perhaps changing the locking mechanisms will be a part of what I do in the future. I have guards but they were most likely asleep during her escape attempt.
She is sleeping. Getting a better look at her with candle light striking her. I guess she is about 7 or 8 years old. Around the age I was when I started my adventure. I wake her up, we eat breakfast in silence. She doesn't doubt my food this time. Instead just enjoying it, nothing fancy just some meat and bread with a bit of the drippings spread over it. She finally starts to talk after eating.
“I don't understand you. One minute you kill dozens of pirates. No emotion on your face and then the next you treat a captive to a nice breakfast. You must be a fool to assume this is enough to win me over.”
“No, I just want to hear your story before I make any decisions. Torturing you would be the fastest way but I have a soft spot for children.”
She stares at me unwavering. The thought of torture must have crossed her mind… She is still young… That steely determination is mostly reserved for adults… She must have been through a lot in her lifetime already to be undeterred by what I just said.
“Well, moving on… What is your name and where are you from?”
She scoffs at me.
“Like you don't know you clown.”
“I don't, that is why I am asking.”
“Hmm… It doesn't look like you are lying… We've met before… You were cutting a group of pirates meant to protect me apart then leaning down and rubbing my head… My hair is still covered in the blood of my comrades. You asked where Gold was and after I collapsed from the shock of all the deaths you just left. I was so horrified by the situation I didn't know what to do, so I just waited… I waited until I knew you were gone, then I started gathering information.”
This little girl seems more like a robot than a human being… Like how I was when I was a child. I'll have to ask some leading questions to see if there is anything wrong with her.
“I asked for your name earlier, do you have one?”
“Pfft, only an imbecile would answer every question their tormentor would ask them.”
“If you wont give your name… Why do you want to kill me?”
“To avenge my family and my patron Gold you slaughtered. She was grooming me to be her protegee and future assistant and royal envoy… You killed my parents in your first attack against the island. She just threw me away after she changed… No food for days… Then you kill her, the person who had brought me from my predicament of normality. I was taught to walk properly, talk properly... She even had plans of who I was going to marry in the future all for the sake of her plan.”
For some reason. She poured her heart out to me. After not giving me her name, she gave me so much other information… Without even much prompting either. I think she is just upset, most of her life must have been preparing for this thing. This list of things that Gold had planned to happen already. With Gold's death… Now her life might feel meaningless. That brings me to my next question.
“So what are you going to do now? I mean your life has all been working towards a goal that is impossible for you to continue striving for.”
“...”
She begins to cry. Oh shit, I forgot that she is still just a child. She's only 7 years old, of course she would be upset easily like that. She cries for awhile. Noticing my concern she finally speaks.
“H-hah! I tricked you into sympathizing with me. I knew you would feel bad for me if I cried you cretin.”
It was clearly a farce to try to protect herself from her own feelings. She calms down and speaks after she has finished crying.
“I… I don't know what to do now. I gave myself an objective to kill you. I don't think I can. Maybe get stronger and then kill you… That will take forever though… I don't know what to do.”
She looks defeated. I don't know what to tell her…
“Well… Your attempt on my life was a very good one. That toxin would have given you the chance to kill anyone else besides me.”
“Wait you know about the toxin I used!? How did you live through that?”
“I have resistance to most things. I'll keep it vague since you want to kill me but I'm completely immune to poison so don't try that.”
What do I do? How do I take care of her… Killing her almost seems like the right thing to do. I don't know… It would feel wrong to have a child as a prisoner. I'm about to let her out and send her out of the fortress as Trice comes barging into the room.
“You had an assassination attempt on your head and you couldn't tell anyone about it!? I had to hear it from my informorman-… Whose the little girl?”
“That would be my would-be assassin.”
Trice just stares at her for a moment, the realization that she made a huge deal out of a child attempting to kill me is sinking in. She finally says.
“Look how filthy she is, you should have taken her to the hot springs before putting her in a prison cell. Do you not have any clean cloths either? I think I have something that will fit you.”
Trice takes her away… I still don't even know the little girls name… She tried to assassinate me, I'm not sure if I'm worried about it or not. I don't think she will be a threat any time soon, so I just ignore it for now. Perhaps in the future if it becomes a problem, I will deal with it then.
The day passes by without anything else exciting happening. It was the first peaceful day I've had since the war. One where I could just relax and let my body go through the motions again. The next day, I get to work on making Gobber the leader of the army. Giving him leadership will allow me to work on other things while the army remains in fighting condition for the upcoming war. He begins to rush people through the new obstacle course that is built. I told him to look for the best men of each troop and invite them to the elite squad. Special training will be done to increase their overall skill. The rest of the army can rely on the better trained in times of need.
Next, I head to Trice. The little girl is now dressed in more boyish cloths then before. She was wearing a dress that was ripped and tattered, covered in mud and completely ruined. For someone who was being trained to be Gold's assistant. She sure made a mess out of that dress quickly… I think now, it was probably dirtied primarily the last few days. Hiding from me and doing research on where I slept… She would make a surprisingly good assassin in the future if she can get over the fact that I killed her parents...
Her name is Duchess, she dislikes me (obviously) and after talking with her. She has a fondness of sweet things. Trice had kept a few chocolate bars from her training in the time tree like myself and gave Duchess one. That is how she got most of the information out of her, through bribery.
I spend about an hour trying to learn the awakened class from her while Duchess only questions what I can do. I'll have to teach Trice in secret from Duchess from here on out so she doesn't learn any classes by accident. Hopefully, in the future, I will be able to teach Duchess the classes she wants.
Would you like to learn Rainbow mage?
Warning! You will lose several other classes by doing so
Yea I already know this… But I stop for a second… Maybe learning so many awakened classes will harm me in the future. They are just so strong I doubt that will happen. I accept.
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Awakened class Rainbow mage passive skill gained Rainbow charm- Retain all the skills you would gain from the component classes, also strengthening them
Classes removed Blue mage, Red mage, Yellow mage, Warden, Scholar
Rainbow mage level 1 to 80
Level 1 Rainbow mage passive skill Weapon master- have an almost innate ability to use anything and everything as a weapon, increases the weapons effectiveness in your hands
Level 10 Rainbow mage skill Rainbow focus- apply a special imbuement to your weapon that will permanently strengthen it with three types of magic and anti magic(replaces infused anti magic runes)
Level 25 Rainbow mage skill Rainbow beam- Attack with a beam of energy (can be fired out as magic, strengthening an arrow or increasing the length of your sword strike)
Level 50 Rainbow mage skill Mimic- Steal an enemies or monsters ability temporarily to use as your own, can only have one mimic skill
I don't understand this… Why was warden and scholar picked… I get scholar, it allows you to continue learning and getting stronger through consuming books… Shouldn't more classes of color be mixed into this combination? I don't understand why warden was picked though… I try to think, think of a reason why it would have been picked over other classes… I can't think of anything, nothing comes to mind. I ask Trice.
“I'm not sure myself… I think I learned scholar as one of my favorite hobbies is reading, it might also be for the sake of learning from reading to increase my capabilities after I hit max level with the awakened class… Warden is, I guess… For Lance's sake… We've always been lacking on protection skills, even with our great healers. Preventing damage is a far better option then healing it. That my point of view anyways.”
I guess it all makes sense… That is just the type of person Trice is. The tactical kind, even with the short active time of the shields, she will still find use for them. Removing the classes she had before, she now has scout, spellthief and rainbow mage. Leaving a single class I can still teach her.
I say goodbye to her as Trice begins to go over everything that Duchess knows. I meet up with Leaf to learn her new awakened class as well… I'm slightly more excited for this one then Trice's, just because I've seen what Leaf has done with it.
Would you like to learn Sage?
Warning! You will lose several other classes by doing so
I agree… At the potential regret in the future I agree.
Awakened class Sage passive skill Sage's knowledge- Retain all the skills you would gain from the component classes, also strengthening them
Classes removed White mage, Black mage, Illusionist, Warlock, Time mage
Sage level 1 to 82
Level 1 Sage skill Sage's Aura- Increase the intelligence of all allies around you (doesn't stack with intelligence ballad)
Level 10 Sage passive skill Sages power- as your mana decreases, your magic attack power increases
Level 25 Sage skill Combo magic- Cast along with another spell to triplicate it's effect (10 minute cool down)
Level 50 Sage passive skill Expand magic- The more mana put into a spell, the larger it becomes
I don't get it… I understand why 3 of the 5 classes were picked. It feels like scholar should have been added to this awakened class as well… Maybe you can't have the same class as part of it? Why was warlock and illusionist picked though? I'm not sure… I once again ask Leaf why these two classes per part of the classes chosen.
“I'm not sure… I thought maybe a dexterity or strength base class would have been added.”
...Alright, that makes even less sense to me now. I know that Leaf is strong but it would be for the best if she focused on staying in the back of the group where it is the safest instead of going into melee range. Leaf needs to stay safe and it seems like I'm the only one who cares about this. If she asks me to teach her strength or dexterity based classes later… I'll have to turn her down.
With all this stuff out of the way I can start working on changing the charisma stat… It just sounds weird to me, I was given a purpose by god to fix a mistake he made… It is just surreal. Everyone, in the entire world, for the past few centuries hasn't been given this job. Other gods haven't been given this job… Why was I chosen? I still don't understand it but I'll do it anyways. The lives that will be bettered by this will be immense. Most people don't even realize they have a broken class like Zeke. So I'll start reworking it tomorrow. I spend the rest of the day just visiting everyone then go to sleep.