Janet followed Sylthis’ instructions exactly. The technique was quite simple, really. All she had to do was will it that her Status readout be made visible to someone else, and the System made it so.
Pireus made her aware that she had the option to hide some or most of the contents of the sheet, but Janet did not feel the need to do so. If what she suspected was right, these people had been sent her way by Gaia. There was a faint whiff of that heady mana and cloying Aura of the goddess still sticking around them.
In was Janet’s understanding that Deities did not make short-term plans. Their existences were too far removed from the mundane day-to-day of mortals. Whether Janet liked it or not, she was going to be spending a lot of time in the company of the five veterans of combat and adventure.
At some point someone would notice that her wounds healed instantly, or that her HP never actually dropped, ever. There was also the tiny bit of her Vitality being the maximum possible value. That would definitely raise some questions.
It was better to get the arguments and finger-pointing done now while she was still the cute, lost vagabond who knew too much to be anything but extraordinary yet too little to survive on her own. If that veneer was replaced by the image of the young adult who secretly devoured souls, the discussion would turn unnecessarily combative.
So, Janet allowed the words displayed upon the screen in her eyes to be seen by the Cyclopean woman.
First though, she angled her stool and folded her arms. Her intention was to savor every moment of Sylthis’ disbelief.
Status
Name: Janet
Race: [unknown] LV 4
Talents: Shadow Affinity (Arcane), Soul Affinity (True)
Blessings: Gaia and Ionus: [Dance of the Elemental Twins – Life, Death] (upgradeable)
Class: N/A
Subclasses: N/A
Resources
Mana (MP): 07/90
Health (HP): 300/300
Stamina: 92/110
Stats
Vitality: 30
Strength: 7
Agility: 12
Endurance: 11
Wisdom: 9
Intelligence: 15
Senses: 21
Willpower: 27
Free points: 0
Titles
[Blessed], [Avid Learner]
Skills:
General
Throw (Basic), Sprint (Common), Cooking (Common), Butchering (Common), Novice Cartographer (Common)
Magic
Meditation (Common), Mana Sight (Rare), Shadow Bolt (Uncommon), Construct Field (Rare)
Class Skills
N/A
Subclass Skills
N/A
Spell Book:
(empty)
Janet could see the hand she’d been dealt. It was shitty in most ways, and the whole [Unknown] Race was beginning to get to her, but those two annotations beside her [Talents] and [Blessing] were the real deal.
There was also the issue of her absurd mental stats, but those were to be expected. Living in the streets without a mind of steel was an improbability. Janet had lost good friends to self-inflicted deaths and pets to an idiot’s dinner pot..
Right then, Janet recalled a pet she’d once had to give up to the jungle since the drought season had been exceptionally long. Tippy was a Hellhound pup. The most loving, most loyal, most fluffy…
Anyhow, mental resilience was a prerequisite to any meaningful life without the support of magic.
For now, though, the moment was all about the fireworks about to go off in Sylthis’ mind. Janet kept her attention on the woman's eye.
The amber orb panned from side to side as Sylthis read through the first line. Then, a frown crinkled her brow when she read the prominently displayed Race [Unknown]. After that…
There it was! The emerald striations in her iris contracted as Sylthis’ pupil dilated. Janet felt a smile begin to creep up her cheeks.
The eye went past that line and onto the list of [Blessings]. This time, Sylthis turned away from her perusal of the Status and laid her sight upon Janet.
It was all she had ever wanted, and more. For someone to look at her and instantly see past all the dirt, the grime and the evidence of a burdensome existence. To see the being beneath all that.
What Sylthis saw left her in awe. Her eye landed on an urchin’s gaunt form and beheld something precious, something worthy of a second look.
And the Cyclopean looked, her gaze unwavering. Her face was filled with warmth and adoration.
Janet, for the first time ever, felt tears of joy roll down her cheeks. Her emotions were all over the place, but she did not mind one bit. She could not remember the last time that second take was not accompanied by the sound of spitting.
In the midst of her sobbing and wet sniffs, Janet chuckled mirthlessly at the thought of how bleak reality could be sometimes.
She felt Sylthis’ palm upon her back. Janet leaned into it, choosing to take comfort offered by an arm extended earnestly.
The larger woman continued to read as Janet composed herself. It took a while. First cries were always intense.
When the crying fit was over, Janet took a look around the clearing. Was the sun brighter, the wind the tiniest bit more crisp? Whatever today brought, Janet knew her world was forever transformed.
“Wow. Just… wow!” Sylthis praised with an open smile when Janet gathered herself enough to look up. In her eye was unadulterated pride, and Janet reveled in it.
“Would you mind sharing whatever has you so excited?” Brian’s words shattered the moment.
Rather than reply just then, Sylthis looked towards Janet for permission.
“Is there information I shouldn’t share right this moment?” Janet found herself seeking counsel. “I know I’ll eventually have to open up to the Party, but is there anything I should keep to myself for now?”
Sylthis became lost in her thoughts, so Janet went back into her Status to comb through any sensitive sections. Perhaps the unknown Race, the Blessing, the full HP…
It was Darius that provided a compromise.
“I’ll be the one to craft your mage training regimen, Janet. Pireus here will be responsible for your martial growth, and believe me when I say every single member here will be instrumental in not only keeping you safe and alive, but bringing your capabilities to heights you can barely imagine.”
Brian’s chest puffed up in pride. Just for show, he released a tongue of flame that he then made dance around his fingers, snaking between them like a regal Dragon weaving between mountains.
Janet really wanted to bring her mastery of Shadow to such heights. But on the flipside of her relentless hunt for power was a need for prudence. If she was to keep herself safe, she needed to know the parties involved were just as invested in keeping her truths secret.
“I will be in your care, but my Status is full of secrets. Secrets that will get me killed if even a whisper of them leaked out. A simple declaration that you all have my interest at heart just doesn’t quite cut it,” she retorted.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“What about a Pact, then?” Darius suggested after a beat of consideration. “We will all make a contract with you never to reveal whatever secrets you might have, as long as we live.”
“Really, till death?”
“Would you settle for any less?” he shook his head as he withdrew an ornate parchment from storage. It was covered top to bottom in dense script. The characters drew mana towards themselves the moment they were exposed to the air.
Darius altered some sections of the obvious mass-produced magical document, signed it with his blood, then passed it to his left for Brian to do the same.
Oddly, Sylvia flinched at the sight of the contract. The others were all pretty nonchalant as they pricked their fingers and dropped blood onto a designated circle in the paper, but the Elf hesitated, taking her time until Darius cleared his throat to urge her on.
When it came Janet’s turn, she took a quick read of its contents. The terms stipulated that the secret in question, the contents of Janet’s Status, would remain a secret only to be discussed among the six of them and no more… until the natural end of their days.
That last line cleared up the issue of Sylvia’s reticence. For an Elf, a natural end was an eternity away. Their kind were biological immortals, only dying from factors other than old age. Janet knew the struggles of such beings, and might have sympathized with Sylvia if her life and freedom weren't on the line.
She pricked her finger, allowed a drop saturated with her mana to bead up. It fell, and she watched as the runes outlining the contract rearranged themselves to make a six-pointed star. The star began to glow, then suddenly a fleck of light shot from each of its points and to every person sitting in the rough circle.
Janet felt the fleck bypass all her defenses, feeble and porous as they were, and settle inside her soul. A ripple traveled through the ambient mana originating from her position, then everything stilled.
The contract was official.
Looking around, everyone’s face was pale, as though they’d just survived a wraith’s enervating touch. Pireus in particular was staring into the middle distance, very likely combing through his own Status for any changes in the aftermath.
“Now that that’s done, what was so interesting?” Darius bounced back almost instantly.
“You just felt it. Her primary [Talent] is Soul.”
There was a round of murmurs and unintelligible grumbles, and a second turn of blood draining from faces.
Brian threw Janet a dirty look. Sylthis stared him down.
As for Sylvia… did the Elf look jubilant? It was difficult to tell when her face remained unchanged, the only betrayer of her internal state being her eyes.
“Is that all? You know that’s pretty much impossible to hide. A primary [Talent] will eventually be revealed to anyone of sufficient power, no matter how hard you try to hide it,” Brian complained. “We did not need to sign a Hells-damned Soul Contract for that!”
Janet did not rise to the challenge. The idea had not been hers, either way.
“She’s also got a [Blessing] from both Life and Death, Brian. A [Blessing] of dual elements, from the two Gardeners of Reality,” Sylthis announced to a suddenly silent gathering.
“The main problem though, is that her Race is unknown,” she delivered the final blow.
An unknown Race meant something so new, no entries about it were registered in the Almanacs. Had it been the Adventurer Almanac System, an argument could be made that records were not yet synced up with the newest and latest discoveries.
Janet’s Status came from the Wayfarer Almanac. It was the System that catalogued new discoveries in all the Spheres. The degree of comprehensiveness boasted by that Almanac was unparalleled. If it did not have an entry, it simply did not exist.
Billions of years since the inception of the Almanac Systems, discoveries of new races were a rarity. A new variant emerged here and there from the accelerated evolution and speciation brought on by mana, but nothing truly [Unknown].
“We had been wondering why it was our Party who were sent here,” Sylvia addressed her party. “That answers our question.”
“Care to explain to the rest of the class?” Brian asked.
“I don’t understand half of it myself – I am still quite young by my people’s standards – but there are legends. There is a reason why Soul Affinity does not occur naturally, and never registers as anything but a Skill. Either the Cosmos suddenly decided to break its laws, or Janet’s mere existence is a part of grander machinations.”
“Is this why Gaia…” Janet began, but a perfectly manicured upraised digit stopped her question in its tracks.
“I am very young, Janet. I’m not even the oldest in this circle. Questions regarding the broader Cosmos, especially those involving the two Primary Deities, would be better answered by my elders.”
Did she mean the elders among her party, or the Elf elders ensconced deep in their reclusive conclave in the Central Continent?
Either way, Sylvia was being evasive. The revelation of Soul Affinity clearly meant something to her, seeing how her eyes lit up at its mere mention. But Janet let it go. She’d have to live among these people for the foreseeable future, so she purposed to cultivate a friendly atmosphere for her sake.
“So, Soul Affinity, Shadow Affinity, and a Wayfarer Guild membership,” Pireus listed out. “Anything else we need to consider going forward?”
He was looking straight at Janet as he asked his question.
“What do you mean?”
“Your mental state, your tendency towards violence, anything that might interfere with training. I do feel for you and the weight of the secrets you carry, but my job is to mold you into an instrument of the Slayer,” he stated with an unwavering gaze. “It is you, Janet, that will serve as my clay. Are there any peculiarities I need to know about your state beforehand?”
That was the most circuitous way to ask a girl for her Status. Janet read between the lines. He needed to make an independent assessment of her state and constitution, based on all the data from Stats, resources and the Skills she’d acquired.
To a skilled eye, and Pireus clearly possessed one, such a tiny readout could reveal a lot about a person's history, their priorities and proclivities, attitudes towards various modes of combat, and a whole lot more.
Janet allowed her Status to be visible to the Party. She knew the Pact was not foolproof in any way, but she hoped that the very clear involvement of two gods would add some weight to the spirit of the pact.
In a second, four pairs of eyes were perusing data visible only to their mind’s eye, silently doing calculations and adding up information.
“This can’t be real,” Darius muttered.
“The Willpower, or that her mana is that low?” Brian asked. “Why is your Wisdom so low, Janet?”
“I’ve been Awakened for less than two weeks. Of course, it’s low!”
The man in red just shook his head, clearly disapproving.
“Sylvia, what do you think?” Darius continued, as though the two bickering youngsters did not exist.
“The Arcane, or the True?”
“The Arcane [Talent] most of all, but also the fact that her HP bar is completely filled at Level 4.”
Janet did not know much about the rankings of her [Talents]. She’d been meaning to ask about that. For now though, she’d try to answer the question that only she was capable of answering.
“The reason why my HP is like that is mostly due to my Soul [Talent].”
“The soul?” Sylvia turned Janet’s way. “What does the Soul have to do with Vitality?”
“Remember my story about Marius? Well, you see…”
Janet explained about the nature of her soul, and its relation to her regeneration. In the course of her tale, she was guided through deft questioning and redirection to reveal that her Shadow [Talent] was indeed the very same that Marius had once possessed. Which kind of revealed that she was an eater of souls.
Oddly enough, the party was more concerned with her usurpation of [Talent] than her weird diet.
“That still does not explain it.”
“The Arcane classification?” Sylvia clarified.
“The only people with [Talents] at that rank are on the cusp of Immortality. Marius was Circles away from that level, so why…”
“I don’t think Janet has told us everything about that night,” Pireus finished Darius’ rant and gazed pointedly at a suddenly irate Janet.
According to Darius, people had known what Marius was doing. The Guilds knew, and the Slayers knew as well. Apparently, he’d been in possession of an Artifact dagger that nobody had countermeasures against, so they just let him be.
“Gaia must have done something,” Janet answered coldly, her fingers gliding on the surface of the plain dagger that was apparently so dangerous, churches and Guilds had let its wielder roam free, killing and conducting infernal rituals.
Yet another secret she’d have to keep hidden.
“You don’t mean…” Sylvia began.
“Yes, the Goddess of Life.” There was bitterness in her tone. “She descended just after I’d slain the monster. She killed the rest of his cult, then did something to my soul. She might have said something about itinerant consciousnesses from souls I’d eaten before, but that doesn’t really make sense if you think about it. It looks like she was messing about with the [Talent] I'd just subsumed and planting the [Blessing].”
“Life descended to our Sphere!” Sylvia gasped; her eyes wide as saucers.
The rest of the Party, Sylthis included, just stared at her like she’d sprouted horns. Yeah, a deity’s descent was that major an event. It seemed only the Elf understood the significance.
Janet decided not to reveal that it was by Gaia’s own hand that the Party was in the jungle. She didn’t think the Elf could take it, and she couldn’t yet deduce how the rest would react to the news.
The conversation that followed revealed some details about Janet's Status. One, that an Arcane [Talent] was one that had been upgraded to a level that could support a mortal’s cultivation all the way till Immortality. Only very few powerful beings ever held one.
Two, a True [Talent] meant someone possessed optimal compatibility with an element or Affinity. It did mean that she’d have to evolve her [Talent] every Circle, just like everyone did, but all she'd need to do was cultivate and evolve, rather than having to upgrade the very [Talent] itself.
Three, that she would need to acquire affinities in all four primal elements if she was to ever try her hand at utilizing the [Blessing] from the gods of Life and Death.
“That will take a lot of time, won’t it?" Janet questioned. "Shouldn't we just focus on improving Shadow?”
"Ever heard of any Shadow spells?" Brian asked. "Both of your elements are largely untrodden ground. They certainly offer the potential to become powerful, but that is far into the future. For now, the Primals offer you the fastest shot at power."
“Plus, all you need to do is consume the right souls, Janet. And you happen to have the map to this entire region. Simply point Brian in the direction of a creature whose [Talent] you covet, and by the next morning you should be ready to cultivate a new elemental magic,” Sylthis joked.
“Or better yet,” Pireus chimed in, “We train her martial capabilities to the point where she can hunt down these beings on her lonesome, then let her loose in a lair somewhere.”
Janet liked that suggestion better. She had grown fond of the sensation of acquiring Experience, and although she couldn’t tell, she figured her soul was growing, perhaps evolving, from all the substantial meals she was gulping up during her hunts.
Whatever option she chose, Janet was certain the rest of her First Circle was about to become very eventful, and very busy.