With the meeting over, the band of six boys left the house in a tight group. They had listened carefully as Roy outlined his plan, one that was sure to unmask the traitor, but also one that required complete secrecy to work. Although they couldn't shake the nagging feeling of unease, they all knew that the stakes were too high to let fear take over.
"Guys, why don't we go to the shop?" Roy suggested. "We'll need to buy those skill scrolls for our classes."
Roy's words helped to ease the tension slightly, as everyone nodded. Most of them were more than willing to change the subject.
"Good idea," Alfonse agreed. "I hope there's a skill more useful than Minor Healing."
Robb looked at Alfonse with a deadpan expression, "If Mr. Jacob heard you, he'd tear his hair out."
Alfonse chuckled at the remark, and so did Fred. The latter sighed and said, "I wonder if he'll be getting a class too. I'm sure he'd love to become a priest."
"Anyone can get a class if they want," Roy shrugged before gesturing for everyone to head to the shop. As they walked, he continued, "It just depends on them and the talents the gods have decided they have."
The walk to the shop took less than a minute before they realized they were already at the door. Entering the small wooden building, they found the old man still sitting next to his desk, a pipe in his mouth.
"Salutations, my lord," the old man put his pipe aside. "What do you need?"
"Skills," Roy replied. "You have skills for our classes, right?"
"Of course, my lord," the old man smiled, looking at the group surrounding Roy. They were all glancing around with interest at the items displayed in the shop. "I suppose all the gentlemen accompanying you are here for the same purpose?"
"Yeah, we all want skills," Jack responded before raising an eyebrow skeptically. "But do you really have skill scrolls for all our classes? There are so many classes, but I don't see that many scrolls here."
The old man chuckled at Jack's comment, "The scrolls you see here are just a fraction of the reserve; they're merely for display."
"Oh, really," Jack said, looking around with interest at the scrolls on the shelves as he walked toward the desk. "So, can you show me the skills I can buy for my class?"
The old man's eyes shimmered with golden light before he chuckled, "Of course, I can show you the apprentice skills for the Spellblade."
Jack's eyes widened at the old man's words, but the latter simply scanned the rest of the group with his eyes. After a few seconds of muttering under his breath, he nodded and walked into a backroom. Everyone could hear him rummaging through items even though they couldn't see anything.
After a few minutes, the old man emerged with six stacks of scrolls, each tied together with a small ribbon. He handed each of the young men a stack of skill scrolls before giving the last one to Jack.
Roy examined the six skill scrolls in hand and untied the ribbon. He then looked at their descriptions one by one.
Mana Manipulation Skill Scroll
Description: You can now manipulate your mana to a finer level. The higher your proficiency, the more you can freely control your spells. Some spells cannot be acquired without a high level of Mana Manipulation.
Aqua Burst Skill Scroll
Description:
The mage channels their mana to form a concentrated sphere of water (size depends on the mana used), which they can launch at their enemies. Upon impact, the sphere rapidly expands (size depends on mana used), dealing damage and drenching the target.
Restriction: Your class needs to be under the Mage archetype.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Fireball Skill Scroll
Description:
Launch a fireball (size depends on mana used) toward a specific location where it will explode into a larger one (size depends on mana used).
Restriction: Your class needs to be under the Mage archetype.
Lightning Bolt Skill Scroll
Description: Launch a lightning bolt (size depends on mana used) towards a specific location where it will explode into a lightning storm (size and strength depends on mana used)
Restriction: Your class needs to be under the Mage archetype.
Wind Blast Skill Scroll
Description: The mage conjures a powerful gust of wind (size and speed depend on mana used), launching it towards their enemies with tremendous force. The wind blast is capable of knocking back opponents and dealing significant cutting damage.
Tremor Burst
Description:
The mage channels their earth affinity to create a localized seismic event (area and effect depend on mana used), causing a sudden and intense tremor in a targeted area. This ability is used to deal damage to enemies and potentially destabilize their footing.
Huh, so I already have three of the skills. That makes the choice quite a bit easier.
He took some time to deliberate between the remaining skills. The Aqua Burst skill was tempting; even if he didn't use it offensively, it could still be useful in an emergency like a forest fire. On the other hand, Tremor Burst was also an impressive skill. In a large-scale war scenario, the ability to destabilize the footing of enemy soldiers could create the perfect opportunity for him to use Fireball without them being able to dodge.
No, I should play it safe and go with Aqua Burst. If I make a fire that will burn everything in a place that Aswad can’t access, we will be in deep trouble.
With his choice made, Roy looked around to see his friends all considering their skills in silence. Even Jack and Jaimie were uncharacteristically quiet and serious.
Roy turned to the old man and asked, "How much do these cost?"
"300 gems," the old man replied, causing Jack and Robb to wince inwardly.
Seems like they're tight on gems too.
However, one question had been nagging at Roy ever since he created the territory. He furrowed his brow and asked the old man, "How can we check our monster gems?"
The old man tilted his head, raised an eyebrow, then smiled and replied, "Just open your Status, my lord. You should be able to see it."
Wait, really? Surprised by the simple answer, Roy checked his Status.
Monster Gems: 756
Oh, I can buy two? That makes things much easier.
With his choice finalized, Roy returned the unused skill scrolls to the old man, keeping only Aqua Burst and Tremor Burst.
"I assume you'll pay through the system," the old man smiled as he took the skill scrolls from Roy.
"Yes, please."
Roy checked his Status again and saw that 600 monster gems had been deducted, leaving him with 156.
I should be able to get enough gems for Wind Blast after tomorrow's dungeon run.
After purchasing the two scrolls, Roy immediately used them to learn the skills. Screen Panels appeared in front of his eyes, showing that he had acquired new spells. Checking his status, he felt a sense of satisfaction as the skill section had grown as extensive as his stats.
With Roy finished, Jack was the second to complete his purchases. He handed the old man the scrolls he wasn't keeping and retained three. Robb, Alfonse, and Fred followed suit, while Jaimie, like Roy, could only buy two skills.
The group left theshop with deeply satisfied expressions, Jaimie giggling to himself.
Robb chuckled and voiced what everyone was thinking, "Yeah, I don't think John stands a chance anymore."
Jack nodded and laughed heartily, "If we master these skills, just the six of us could go to his place and mess up his entire army. I almost want to do it right now."
Hearing Jack getting fired up, Fred chuckled and said, "It's a shame we need to wait. If we take out John already, we'll never find out who the traitor is."
Jack's eyes turned serious as he cracked his knuckles, "Once we find out who it is, you all just leave him to Alfonse and me. I want to see just how good Minor Healing truly is, and he would just be our volunteer test subject."
"I would say you're crazy," Alfonse furrowed his eyebrows before shrugging, "But I want to know how good my skill is too. We can't wait to find out until we fight something strong."
While Alfonse and Jack were concocting their devilish plan, Roy could only shake his head. He looked at Jaimie, who seemed slightly perturbed by the duo's speech.
"They should be the ones in the right, but they somehow look even more evil," Roy glanced at Jaimie with a slight smile. "That's almost a talent, isn't it?"
The young boy laughed while Roy chuckled lightly. However, as they made their way back to their homes, the familiar sensation of growth encompassed all of their senses. Green light enveloped their bodies, signaling the update of their stats. Remembering the effect of the achievements he had received, a feeling of anticipation gripped Roy's heart.
Status.