The lighting in the room suddenly brightened right as Lady Arachne spoke. A gust of wind filled the room as it was being sucked out at the same time. Liam felt what was going on was similar to when he pushed the air purification button in the Poison Crafting room. As the room was being purified from the lingering poison from both the snake and Noxi, Liam got a better look at the room he stood in. He was surprised at what he saw.
Along the side of the walls were small hidden entrances that blended with the wall and sat next to the metal boxes that were positioned around them. On further inspection some of those boxes had open sides that lead into the hidden entrances. He also noticed cloths that blended in with the walls hanging by the front of the room. He looked up and noticed handles that were scattered throughout the ceiling.
Liam was both amazed and surprised he hadn’t noticed all these routes he could have taken, but missed. He had a plan he came up with and decided on that. However, after seeing all of these other things he could have made better use of the environment. For example, when Noxi brought out his snake, he could have rolled a metal ball into the hidden entrance making both the snake and Noxi believe he had gone in there.
Liam let out a sigh. Even though he missed all these other routes, he was still happy with how things ended. He just hoped the others were impressed with his performance. Anemone slithered her way up Noxi’s arm and shoulder getting comfortable as she stared at Liam. Lady Arachne, Tantalizing Orchid, and Silent Saboteur slowly made their way out of the viewing room and over to the three.
Liam could feel a tense atmosphere as the three arrived to them. He didn’t know what was going on, but he knew something must have happened and waited for someone to speak. To his surprise it was Silent Saboteur who spoke first.
“Tell me right now,” Silent Saboteur started with a hint of urgency and skepticism in his voice. “Was that a Chemical Creation that had Shadow Mana Extract in it?”
It took a second for Liam to think about what it was he was asking, until he realized he was talking about the Weak Crushing Dark Fog he used to try and suppress both Noxi’s and his snake’s movement as well as their sight. He didn’t know how well the gravity effect worked, but the fog aspect worked great until he started moving and had the Veil of Shadows dispersed. He needed to ask Noxi if it worked at all on him.
Before he could respond to Silent Saboteur’s question, Noxi inquired, “Was that a Crushing Dark Fog Chemicalized Creation item?”
Liam nodded to both men “It was a weak version of it yes.” He was about to say more but both men cut him off.
“You know you’re not allowed to use premade alchemical creations for this test right?” Noxi asked.
“Where did you get that Chemicalized Creation item from?” Silent Saboteur questioned.
“I…,” Liam tried to say.
“I’m kind of curious as well,” Orchid chimed in. “You wouldn’t find an item like that in any of the markets here in this town. I thought Silent would be the only one who would have them in stock.”
“I…,” Liam tried again.
“I have to admit though the timing and placement was perfect,” Silent Saboteur complimented.
“It was,” Noxi agreed. “Also, how did you get past my infrared vision? Was it an ability or skill?”
“Okay that’s enough,” Lady Arachne cut in, stopping the others from bombarding him with questions. “First and fore most, that item was well in his rights to use. He didn’t break any rules since he made it himself.”
Liam raised a brow as he stared at the short woman. The other three looked confused as they heard what she said. Noxi and Silent Saboteur brought a hand to their chin and started thinking while Orchid looked even more lost.
“What do you mean?” Orchid questioned. “If you’re implying that he made the item then where did he get the Liquified Shadow Mana Extract? Last time I checked, we haven’t gotten any in recently and the last batch we did have was sent out to another branch six months ago.”
Liam was intrigued by this information.
“While it is true that we haven’t had any in for quite some time,” Lady Arachne started. “Getting a supply of that specific Liquified Mana Extract in isn’t the only way that he could have secured it.”
Before Orchid could argue, Silent Saboteur looked like a sudden thought came to mind. He looked at Liam before asking, “Are you implying that he made the extract himself? If he did then that would mean…”
Lady Arachne grew a wicked smile. She didn’t reply to Silent Saboteur’s comments, but instead asked Liam, “You have the Field of Shadows, don’t you?”
All three other members turned their focus on Liam. Liam felt a bit uncomfortable as he internally asked Eri, I know you said using my Shadow Magic would be fine here, but are you sure it’s a good idea to reveal that bit of information?
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“I think it should be fine. While having Field of Shadows is rare it isn’t unheard of. In fact, it further sells you since many don’t have it and want it. In this type of Association, your worth will rise even more. – Eri.”
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“I can understand that, but if they try to ask how I got it I can’t really say I got it thanks to one of my racial benefits. Hell, I still don’t know what my other race is that I got it from. Liam argued.
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“You don’t have to worry about revealing that part of information. In fact, if asked just say you got it as a reward during the Tutorial Dungeon. I am one hundred percent certain they think you’re a full blooded Beast-kin. So long as you don’t reveal any particular information you can get away without them knowing the full details. – Eri.”
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Liam couldn’t argue with that logic. Lady Arachne had been calling him Little Kitten all this time so far. Maybe he could get away with just telling half-truths. Saying it was a dropped reward technically wouldn’t be lying since it was revealed on the fourth floor.
Deciding to go with that, Liam nodded and replied, “Yes, I do.”
“No way!” Orchid shouted with a shocked expression. “How…”
“That’s enough for right now,” Lady Arachne stated suddenly cut Orchid off as she gave her a look. “We’re still in the middle of testing right now.” She then looked at Liam and instructed, “Can you please walk out of this room and wait in a crafting room. We’ll need about thirty minutes to prepare the next test.”
Liam stared at Lady Arachne. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he figured he could use the wait time to replenish his Spirit Pool. Before he turned, he nodded and said, “Sure. Should I come back in here after the thirty minutes?”
“No, we will meet you in the entrance room,” Lady Arachne informed.
“Alright,” Liam stated as he headed for the door.
“Oh, and Little Kitten,” Lady Arachne shouted right before he walked through the open door.
Liam turned to look at her.
“Great job on this first test,” the short woman congratulated.
Liam nodded his thanks and disappeared with the door closing behind him.
Noxi, Orchid, and Silent Saboteur turned their eyes towards Lady Arachne as soon as the door shut. She could see the questions burning in their eyes as they waited for her to speak. She couldn’t blame them. Even she had some burning in the back of her mind. This was a new development none of them could have expected.
“Thoughts?” Lady Arachne subtly asked, knowing well that a flood of them were about to come out.
As predicted, all three let out their thoughts on the matter. Lady Arachne let them ramble for a bit, trying to get a question out over the other. After a few seconds had passed, she clapped her hands together to get them to stop.
She then looked at them each one by one and stated, “We don’t have much time. We’ll start with a few questions then move on to deciding the next test.”
The others didn’t look happy, but they agreed with what she had said.
Lady Arachne pointed to Orchid, allowing her to speak first since she looked like she was about to burst.
“Do you think he was telling the truth?” Orchid inquired.
Lady Arachne nodded. “Yes. I genuinely think he has the Field of Shadows.” She then looked at Noxi and asked, “Your question.”
“Do you think he has any ties to any of those three species of that race?” Noxi asked, genuinely concerned.
That was a good question. When it came to Shadow Magic or the Field of Shadows it was widely known that a certain race and the species of that race inherently received it as a racial benefit. On the other hand, though, while Shadow Magic was rare and known as that race’s specialty, it wasn’t unheard of for people outside of that race to get it. Especially if they had a high affinity for it. However, from what she knew of the young man she didn’t believe he had ties to them.
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Lady Arachne shook her head. “No. I do not think so.”
“What makes you think that?” Noxi started to argue. “The way he was able to blink out of the way before I or my Anemone could hit him plus that Double he made out of pure Shadows…His control over his Shadow Magic was smooth. It could easily be explained if he was a member of any of those three.”
“I wholeheartedly agree with your points Noxi,” Lady Arachne started. “However, you are forgetting something very important…He’s a Cat-folk Beast-kin.”
This made Noxi stop the next thing he was about to say. Instead, he thought about it. That race was known for its interspecies marriages. The argument she was making was very weak if that was her reasoning for not thinking he could be at least half of one of those three monsters.
He was going to argue that, but was stopped as the woman added, “I know what you’re thinking, but if he is what Silent Saboteur and I really think he is then there is no way he could have ties to those three clans. That specific Cat-folk race wouldn’t permit an interspecies marriage with any one that isn’t from their own race.”
Noxi was confused by what she said. Orchid too had the same look as Noxi. He tried to think about what she meant. In the Cat-folk race there were many different species, but not many were very strict about their race getting with anyone outside their own. One such was the royals, the Arkadians. But he didn’t think the young man would have ties to them. If he did he wouldn’t be waiting here. That only left…
Noxi looked at Lady Arachne and asked, “Do you truly think he is one of them? A Cait Sith?”
“It is only a guess from what we have observed so far and from the hints he has…unknowingly given,” Lady Arachne stated. “We believe we are a hundred percent certain he is a full blooded Cat-folk and the species is a Cait Sith. He has displayed an excellent example of crafting so far with that one item alone, however…after that display I have some reserves. We all know the Cait Sith do not like to fight. They’d rather hide away and craft till the end of their life. We are going to have to see how his next couple of tests go.”
The other three nodded their heads. They too were excited to see what else he had in store for them. This first test was full of surprises right from the beginning. Who would have thought this young man would pull out something like Shadow Magic right from the get-go. If he had more surprises for them like this, then maybe viewing him as some low leveled person wasn’t the right way to go about these tests.
Lady Arachne turned to Silent Saboteur and asked, “Any questions from you?”
“I have a lot, but if I’m only allowed one for now then it’ll have to be…,” Silent Saboteur started. “When did you realize he had that field?”
Noxi and Orchid focused on the woman as they too were curious about that.
“It was right before he made the Double created out of shadows,” Lady Arachne answered. “At first, when we realized he was going the stealth route, I was a little disappointed. However, I thought it was strange that he didn’t come out from that corner. You thought it was strange too didn’t Noxi. That’s why you tried scanning the area to see if you could find him right?”
Noxi nodded. “Knowing where all the secret pathways were as well as the tools placed all over the room, I tried to see if maybe he had chosen one of those routes. However…”
“You couldn’t find him,” Lady Arachne interjected. She then corrected herself by saying, “That’s not right. You couldn’t see where he was.”
Noxi nodded. “My racial benefit, Infrared Vision, allows me to locate people even in the dark through their body heat. When I tried looking, I couldn’t find a single trace.”
“How is that possible?” Orchid asked.
“There is a Stealth ability you get through Shadow Magic,” Silent Saboteur started as he thought it over. “If my memory is correct, the ability wraps you in shadows. I think I heard that the shadows that wrap around you are so cold it drops your body heat?”
Lady Arachne shook her head. “That’s not correct. It’s kind of hard to understand, but essentially, Shadows is considered absent of both light and heat. You do feel a coldness when they wrap around you, but its not because of the shadows themselves but rather where they take you.”
Confused Noxi asked, “What do you mean?”
Lady Arachne looked at the others and gave them a smile. She was about to say something, but stopped and frowned as she felt something quiver beneath her feet. A pair of pointy legs tapped on her legs and feet, communicating something to her. After understanding what was being said to her she stated, “I can’t divulge more than I’m allowed to. However, what I can say is that there was a moment right before he used his Shadow Double where his shadowy silhouette appeared briefly against the wall. That’s how I knew he had the Field of Shadows.”
Silent Saboteur stared at her for a long moment. He knew there was more there than what she was saying. Even though he wasn’t the second in command, he was the longest person to have worked with her. He knew she carried secrets. Secrets that could easily swallow not just her whole, but this entire Association Branch if she or everyone else wasn’t careful. His owls and even Ally warned him each time she was in the Dark Nest that she carried something dangerous somewhere on her. However, no matter what they did to try and understand or find it, they couldn’t.
Noxi and Orchid were confused as they looked at each other. That was a first for them. never have they heard their current leader say there was something she wasn’t allowed to divulge. If that was the case then they knew it had to come from someone who was in a higher position than she was. Thinking that made it easier for them to not want to press it further.
“Okay so what now?” Orchid asked.
“Now?” Lady Arachne repeated. “Now, we talk over what we have seen and prepare the next test.” She then looked at Noxi and asked, “What notes do you have since you were the test administrator.”
Noxi nodded as he replayed everything in his mind. “First, that stealth ability of his. It can be very useful to him since he could get past even my vision. I’m not entirely familiar with it, but if he can be seen as a shadow on the wall then that could be a problem in well-lit areas.”
Lady Arachne nodded. “What else? How was that item he created?”
“That Chemicalized Creation, Crushing Dark Fog…,” Noxi continued. “Even though it was weak, and the nasty side effect was useless against me, it was still a good idea to use. The gravity held both me and Anemone in place for a brief moment, which was probably part of his plan. Even if it’s a brief moment, that’s all it takes for a mission to succeed or fail. Adding in that a dark fog blanketed over us to block our sight worked well until he started moving quickly. If he didn’t sprint like that I wouldn’t have found him. I must say that I’m impressed he is already able to make Chemicalized Creations so early after leaving the Tutorial Area. He has promise in the crafting aspect.”
“I agree,” Lady Arachne nodded before looking at Silent Saboteur. “Your thoughts on the item?”
“My assessment is similar to Noxi’s,” the portly man stated. “While I didn’t expect him to be able to make it, it was a pleasant surprise and caught me off guard. The timing and the placement where he threw it was perfect as well. Its almost like he has had experience throwing Alchemy crafted items in a fight.”
Lady Arachne looked at Orchid. “Any thoughts or questions of you own?”
Orchid looked at Noxi and asked, “What happened towards the end there? There were a couple of moments when I thought you would have struck him. The same with Anemone. He’s way too low leveled to have reflexes good enough to dodge both of your attacks.”
Silent Saboteur nodded in agreement. “I’m curious as well.”
“Well…,” Noxi started as he thought about it. “I really don’t know what to say about that. I was shocked as well when it happened. But when I watched my sword come down on him as well as when Anemone should have bitten into him, it was like his body was made of smoke. As soon as the smoke took form he wasn’t there anymore. I’ve never seen or had a situation like that happen before.”
“That would be Shadow Step,” Lady Arachne answered before she felt those damn spidery legs scrap her legs.
The three looked at her.
“So, it’s another Shadow ability?” Noxi asked. “I guess that would make sense and why I haven’t seen or come up against it before. I haven’t really had to go up against anyone with Shadow Magic.”
Silent Saboteur stared at Lady Arachne some more before looking back at Noxi and asking, “How would you rate that in terms of survivability?”
“In terms of survivability? It should help get him out of almost any situation,” Noxi replied.
“Almost?” Orchid asked.
“Every ability that helps you in the way it does should have drawbacks. Especially in the lower level range,” Noxi stated. He then looked at the others and added, “I am entirely certain he’ll use it in the next test. I propose we figure out ways to bring those limitations to light and see what he does to counter it.”
The others nodded as they agreed to the suggestion. Not too soon after that they went into a full blown discussion about the changes they needed to make in order to better test this new applicant in the next test.
As they discussed the new changes for the next test, Lady Arachne had a single thought that kept popping up in the back of her mind. Did you know about this Wild Card?
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After thirty minutes had passed by Liam reactivated his Spirit Weave ability to bring back the look he got when using this ability. He had spent this time replenishing his Spirit Pool and crafted a few small vials of flammable oil. He was getting pretty low in his stock and needed to replenish that as well. He wasn’t sure if he had time to try and craft anything else, so he didn’t chance it. The oils were pretty quick since they didn’t need any actual focus and he could get a few going at the same time.
He also spent the time thinking about how he performed in the last test. He still wasn’t sure how the snake and Noxi was able to find his exact location after he had used Weak Crushing Dark Fog, but it wasn’t too big of a surprise to him. He knew the man probably had a way, but not knowing what it was bugged him. He made a mental note to ask the man after all of this was done.
The other thing he went over was his close encounters. Noxi’s bone whip sword intrigued Liam. He wanted to know more about it. That kind of weapon had only shown up in a few novels, Mangas, and video games in his past so to see it in person and almost get struck by it…it kind of made him excited. Not in a weird way, but more in a crafter’s curiosity kind of way.
Going back to the close encounters. He knew he was lucky his Shadow Step ability getting off cooldown when it did, saved his ass. Thanks to him using it though it had leveled up to level thirteen after the test. He was probably going to have to rely on it again for the next couple of tests, but he knew they were probably going to expect him to. He was going to need to get creative with it now.
Taking a couple of deep breaths, Liam mentally prepared himself before walking through the door. After he stepped through he saw Noxi waiting for him next to an open door.
Confused to see only the man, Liam asked, “Where is everyone else?”
Even though Liam couldn’t see the facial expression the man had, he had a feeling he was amused with the question.
“They are awaiting for you to start your next test,” the gas masked male replied. He then gestured towards the door and asked, “Are you ready?”
Liam, still a bit confused by what he meant, let out a breath and nodded. Noxi didn’t wait as he stepped through the door. Liam followed closely by.
After Liam entered this door and into the next, he was amazed to see the scenery before him. This room was filled with trees. The very same trees that he had seen in the Dark Nest Marketplace area.
He looked over at Noxi and asked, “Is this…”
Before he could finish, Noxi stated, “No. This isn’t the Dark Nest, but a testing room designed to test your ability to survive. These trees are similar to the ones planted in that area, but it is not the same place.”
Liam nodded.
“In this area Lady Arachne, Silent Saboteur, and Tantalizing Orchid are hiding and waiting,” Noxi instructed. “They are waiting for you to enter this forest so they can try and attack or trap you. Your goal is to survive and get past the traps or ambushes they have ready for you. You are not allowed to attack or fight back. You use your abilities or skills to defend yourself, but you are not allowed to stay and fight.”
Liam was taken aback by what the man said. He didn’t know what to expect for this next test, but this wasn’t it.
“It is their goal to hold you in place for a certain amount of time as well as stop you from advancing and reaching the other side of the forest,” Noxi added. “Do you have any questions?”
“On a scale from one to ten…how fucked am I?” Liam asked.
Noxi’s body trembled a bit as he let a slight chuckle escape. “If they were to use their abilities to try and kill you…the scale would heavily be tipped on the you’re fucked side. However, their goal isn’t to harm you, but to stop you. So, if I were to redo that scale with that bit of adjustment…I’d still say you’re fucked.”
Liam gulped as he stared at the man and said while dragging out the word, “Great.”