“We can circle back to this…” Lee said diplomatically as Arcani gently shook her head with a wry smile.

“As I told you before. I cannot give you a spell that drops flaming meteors from the sky by enhancing your blessing. This is not negotiable.”

“But…” Lee was still holding out hope, but his uncle laid a hand on his shoulder and softly squeezed. It wasn’t going to happen.

Regina held her head in her hands. Her hair dangled past, covering her face, blocking what little emotion could shine through on that façade she carried. Vanak looked uninterested in the conversation but paid keen attention to how close he and Shane were. It appeared he was out of the loop about their familial relationship.

“What else, Lee. It can’t be too intimate either.” Arcani gazed into his glowing blue eyes with her twirling rainbows, and an idea sprung into his mind.

“Can it be a skill or ability?” Lee asked thoughtfully as he was onto something.

“Depends what it does. It can’t summon flaming meteors from the sky, for example.”

Lee looked at Em and did something rude. He used Identify on her.

Identify failed! Target has been alerted to your presence.

Em’s face twisted sharply and locked onto Lee. She frowned as he silently apologized. He turned back to Arcani and hoped that this would work. “There are skills or abilities that enable someone to identify people at a higher level or block out attempts, right?”

Arcani nodded as she leaned back into her seat on the pew. Death shuffled closer to Regina to get away from Arcani, which caused a chain reaction as Regina shuffled toward Gerald, which then caused Gerald to scoot to the end of the pew. Arcani circled her hand, indicating that he should carry on.

“Can I have a skill or ability that lets me Identify anyone without fail? Also, can it make it so that I am immune to Identify?” He asked.

Arcani tapped a finger on her chin as she looked to the ceiling in thought… for about one second before she smiled. “Sure!”

He was already thinking of something else, not expecting that option even to be possible. So, it caught him off-guard. “Wait, really?”

“Yup. So, just so we’re all aware of what is at stake. You’ll be doing everything you’d normally be doing, except you now have the option to heal even more people! People can make a trip to you through a portal created by yours truly with the help of Shane, and you can go to the battlefield to heal soldiers. In return, I'll upgrade your blessing and have it so that you’re immune to identify and can Identify everyone unless they have a ability or skill that effectively hides them. Sort of like how this one will do for you. Deal? Oh, it won’t work on any of us either. We wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

Lee thought the offer through one last time. Essentially, it didn’t require him to do much more than he was already planning to do. He would just get more patients. When he was done with work here, he could swoop down the front lines and heal some people there.

He wasn’t sure what the gods actually got out of this, but he stood to gain a lot. The XP from his class quest would be rolling in soon, and the more he taught, the more he would passively gain XP. With the new blessing, he could even use Identify on people or monsters without fail! And he would be immune to prying eyes. So many people had already caught a glimpse of his legendary class, which was already a headache. This would work out in his favor.

With a hand held out, Lee smiled. “Deal.”

Arcani looked at the hand and paused. Her eyes flickered and then she laughed and leaned in, grasping his hand in hers. It was cold to the touch—Much too cold for a living person. She shook his hand and then let go and stood up. “Thanks! Make sure to wash that hand. I've had people shake my hand and not wash it to keep my touch lingering.”

Arcani, the Goddess of Magic, has upgraded your blessing!

You are now one of the Anointed of Arcani.

New Ability!

Ability Name: Chromatic Intuition.

Ability Description: Your eyes carry a hint of the divine, piercing the veil of the obfuscated and protecting your personal information.

“Rainbows are a thing of natural beauty that no mere magic can replicate.” - Arcani, the Goddess of Magic.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Lee heard Em, Gerald, and Regina gasp simultaneously. Raising a hand to his face, he softly touched his cheek. He gazed at everyone around the room before asking his dreaded question. “My eyes changed again, didn’t they?”

Nods from all around were his response. He sighed, brought out his trusty hand mirror, and finally saw his reflection.

At the beginning, he had regular, yet clear, blue eyes. Some had even called them beautiful back in the day, and he was pretty proud of them. Then, when he was blessed, they started to glow. Late at night and in the darkness, he could almost see the faint glow in his peripherals. He could see his nose in pitch-black darkness if he crossed his eyes. Now? Now, they were absurd. Two glowing and swirling rainbows copy-pasted from Arcani adorned themselves into his sockets. Brilliant blues, reds, yellows, oranges, indigos… all seven colors of the rainbow shifted and twirled in a whirlpool of color, draining into the pitch-black void of his pupils.

He lowered his mirror as he went limp and tilted his head back. “Well, that’s going to attract some attention.”

“I think they’re fitting,” Arcani said smugly as she patted her revealing robe. “Well, I must be off. You have lots of work to do, and we shouldn’t keep you for much longer. Your companion that worships Vanak here is about to drink himself into a stupor trying to hold off the tidal wave of impatient patients. Goodbye, Lee. We’ll meet again.” Arcani snapped her fingers and was gone with a twirl of multi-colored magic.

Shane hugged him and then clasped his shoulders as he locked eyes with Lee. “Be safe. I’d say the three words, but then your friends here would be in your business for the next millennium. Remember what I told you about… forever? You’re on the right track, and I think you have your first true friend. I’ll be watching.” A swirl of pitch-black void appeared and encapsulated Shane. He also disappeared.

Vanak just waved and poofed where he stood. No fanfare or anything else. Lee wasn’t sure if Vanak liked him or not.

Death stood and hoisted his scythe up as he peered down at Lee. “I meet all—magic or not.” He turned and regarded Regina, who was beginning to stand. “Quick, efficient, deadly. You will meet your end one day, and I will come for you. I will save you from a finality that is beyond your comprehension. That is what I do.”

Ever so slowly, Death dragged his scythe vertically through the air in front of him, causing a tear in reality to form. He grasped the corner with a skeletal hand and tore it open. The air in the immediate surroundings rushed into the void as he slowly stepped through. Death’s robes were not even fluttering from the whipping winds. Once through, the tear in reality closed, and everything was still.

Lee looked around the temple and broke the silence. “This is a lovely temple…”

“What the fuck was that?!” Em said as she bustled around where Death had disappeared.

Gerald knelt while holding onto his necklace, which was that of a sealed scroll. He murmured softly to himself as he prayed. Lee left him to it.

Regina sat back down on the pew and, with dead eyes, stared forward into the air. After a few seconds, she sighed and took out a notebook. Lee genuinely felt a little sorry for the report she would write about this. Even though she was Fatalina’s close friend, this would be hard to believe.

Em scuttled around the room as she inspected the rooms for all of the gods; once she was done, she returned to Lee and blocked his path from exiting the room. “What was that. Who were those people?”

“Those were gods and goddess’ Em. I figured you’d be sharp enough to figure it out.” Lee jabbed as he tried to scoot away from Em’s sharp edges.

She narrowed her eyes. “The one that looked a little like you said he wanted to meet me…”

Lee didn’t know what to say about that. While some people knew about his relationship with his uncle, this wasn’t a topic that he should share with others, much like how he came from another world or dimension or… whatever. He was already becoming much too popular for his position, and adding in those two facts would bring nothing but trouble his way.

But… Em was his friend. He didn’t like keeping things from her, but she was the type of person to have no filter when it came to keeping secrets. Lee had already gotten interrogated by Regina on the way to Felispar once the members of Home’s Homage separated from them. That was an uncomfortable conversation.

“Is it really surprising that a god would be interested in you, Em? The deeds you’ve done? The trials and tribulations you’ve overcome? Hell, being my best friend probably qualifies you for an interview at this point.” Lee elbowed one of her legs as Em grinned. Stroking her ego worked wonders.

Em sniffed haughtily and stuck her nose in the air as she held a palm to her chest. Her inner regal-ness flowed freely. “As always, you are correct. I don’t know what came over me. It’s actually insulting that more of them didn’t appreciate my presence.”

“True, true.” He nodded along with arms crossed, then peeked back toward Regina and Gerald. “I think it’s time to start healing some people, Em. Do you want to work here? Heal people with me? You’ll get paid and all of that…”

Em’s regal demeanor faltered as she quickly thought of an excuse. “Well, you see… Maybe it would be best if—”

“It’ll be fine. I know people don’t like you based solely on your appearance. I understand that more than you think. I mean, look at me. I’m maybe a hundred and sixty pounds soaking wet. I’m frail, gaunt, and look like I'll fall over from a harsh wind. You think I don’t notice the looks other people give me? I know it’s not the same as your circumstances, but if you show them that you’re a good person, maybe they’ll begin to see you in a better light…”

He paused, unsure if he should continue. After releasing a deep breath, he decided it was for the best. “I’d like to work with you, Em. You can have a room and store your stuff. You know, inside. We can work together and experience all of this as a team. I’d also feel safer with you around.” He leaned in to whisper conspiratorily. “Regina is all well and good, but I don’t know if she has my best interests at heart. If Fatalina said, ‘Lee needs to die.’ I have a pretty good idea on what she’d try to do.”

As Em considered his offer, he decided to try his new ability. Regina was up first.

Regina - Human - Level: 84 Silent Assassin. (Rare)

Then, Em.

Emthraxiatus Mertalicus Sepheroxus - Arachne - Level: 52 Metalurgic Wreaver. (Rare)

“After what she’s seen today, I don’t think you have to worry about anyone getting on your bad side…”

Lee was about to bring up the Healer’s Sanctum, but Em continued. “Not with me by your side, anyway.”

She flashed him a grin, and Lee smiled. “You can pick out your room after we finish with today's patients. If you can’t fit through the door, just knock the wall down. I didn’t pay for the building after all.”