The sword came out of the pony’s eye socket with a wet sucking sound. The Ents at least had the decency to be bloodless. Jem wiped the blade on the grass. He wasn’t sure if it was the way you were meant to clean a sword but he wanted to move out of there quickly. If he wanted to hunt more of them, lying right next to a dead body probably wasn’t the best way to do it.
A few of the ponies looked at him warily but it wasn’t long before they returned to eating, though he did note that none of them came close. He moved around a large boulder using it to break their lines of sight.
Jem peeked his head around the corner. None were paying any attention to him anymore. One of them had moved over to the corpse and was tearing into it with sharpened teeth. It must have been a skill. Jem cast identify on the creature and then ducked back around the corner.
[Shifty Steed Lvl 2]
Jem realised he probably ought to take their mouths seriously too. Jem peeked back around the corner. The first steed was still tearing into the body and a few other steeds had wandered over too. He wondered just how a creature that must have evolved to eat grass could also digest meat. Jem facepalmed. Right. Magic.
He realised his mistake an instant too late. Some of the blood from the sword had gotten onto his hand and now his mask was lovely and bloody.
Unless the steeds could consume each other to gain power, Jem wasn’t especially concerned. He doubted it was a thing but he did generally want to improve his understanding of monsters. He knew that bioforms could sometimes come from monsters, so surely there were also other things of value that they might produce. Jem looked at the rapidly disappearing corpse. He didn’t think he’d get anything of value from that.
He looked over to where Aoife was waiting and she seemed content enough to keep watching him. Taking it as a sign that he was fine to continue Jem found another grassy thicket and lay in wait. The next steed he killed didn’t net him a level but the one after that did.
Jem gained 2 dexterity, 1 vitality and 1 intelligence from the random distribution, again assigning his four unassigned stat points to wisdom, bringing it up to a healthy 23 when the +2 to all stats was also considered.
Jem set his sights back to hunting more of the steeds, the last two he’d killed using the same method as the first, striking from the ground and into the eye, it seemed like it would be a consistently vulnerable spot, and if it worked what was the harm? Jem hunted another couple this way, he gained no level this time, though he hadn’t really expected to.
Aoife had suggested that he ought to try to work on improving his skill. The teleporting ponies didn’t provide any opportunity to improve his sword work or anything like that, so instead he focused on what could be considered auxiliary skills. Surely laying traps is a skill.
The next pony he killed he dragged over next to the boulder. He walked around to the back of the boulder and climbed up onto it. He’d noticed that while eating the steeds tended not to look up at all. He didn’t want to be near their teeth if they were eating meat, but, maybe he could get the drop on them from above.
He waited for a pair to come close and start feasting on their fallen companion. When they were distracted Jem lept down on top of them. He landed on one while swinging for the other. His blade struck flesh and the pony whinnied a high-pitched shriek. The poor pony he’d landed on was apparently not evolved to allow riders. Its spine snapped inwards like accordion folds in a sickening crunch.
The *ding* of the kill notification came as no surprise. Jem hacked at the other pony and caught it in the neck. It teleported away but half a minute later another kill notification popped up.
Jem was happy to discover he’d gained another level. Though this time it had taken five steeds to get from level two to three, a steep increase from the two he’d needed to get from one to two.
*Ding* The Lost Child has reached Lvl 3: +2 all stats, +4 unallocated stats, +4r(3S,1V)
Jem allocated four points to wisdom and hid back behind the boulder, before climbing back onto it. The steeds seemed to be drawn to the meat rather than scared away by the warming a pile of dead bodies should probably offer.
Three steeds came over this time and Jem took two of them out in one go. He landed hoof first on one of them repeating his spine-crunching manoeuvre and he lined up the sword with the head of the second killing it in a single blow. While he was occupied, the other pony lunged forward.
Jem felt a moment of certainty in his thought’s accelerated state where he knew what was about to happen and was powerless to stop it. The pony’s teeth connected with his left butt cheek and tore into it, ripping away a large chunk of flesh and a good portion of his trousers alongside it.
Jem’s [Unflinching] skill helped a lot. Without it he might have frozen, but instead, he just yelled out in shock and pain.
Jem ripped the sword out of the previous pony’s head and whipped it directly at the steed behind him. The increase in strength from the stat increase must have helped because the sword dented the steed’s skull inwards with a single blow and a sickening crunch. It fell to the ground dead, and Jem got another notification.
*ding* You have slain Shifty Steed Lvl 3
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
It had been the highest level Steed Jem had seen yet.
At that moment Aoife came over. “You’re getting careless, I think it’s time we headed back.”
“But–” Jem tried to protest but Aoife cut him off.
“You’ve got more stats now, but no idea how to use them properly. I’d thought you had some training because you came here with a blade, but you don’t have any experience with a sword do you?”
Jem shook his head. “Can you heal my butt before we talk about this, it really hurts.”
“How are you going to learn if you don't have any consequences? I think you can live with it until we get back to the forest.”
Jem mumbled under his breath. “This is child abuse.”
“Oh but sweetie there aren’t any children here, I seem to recall you going to great lengths to stress that point.”
Jem groaned. “Mum I think I’m beginning to hate you.”
She flicked him on the forehead.
It sent him sprawling backward onto the ground. He shook his hand up into the air. “This is tyranny I tell you, tyranny.”
He wasn’t sure exactly how he’d gotten to the point where he could joke around while wounded. Is it something to do with all the pain I’ve experienced since arriving here?
– – –
When they got back they added sword practice to his training. He’d asked Aoife why he should bother if he was just going to focus on spells anyway, but she looked at him like he was an idiot and explained that it wouldn't always be possible to use magic, he could deplete his Kol, like he had when he cast the illumination spell or there might just not be time.
It turned out his instructor for swordplay was also Ayo. He had originally been going to train with a fair-skinned man, apparently from the far south, but Ayo had said, it would be pointless for someone nimble like Jem to learn how to fight like a brute.
That had led to four hours of hell each day.
The two hours of dance lessons followed by another two hours of swordplay made him want to die. At least all of the exercise was making him stronger. It had the added benefit of fulfilling the cardio requirement. Jem hated running.
Ayo was also quite an efficient teacher. Most of the steps she taught him in dance almost directly transferred over to the swordplay, and they fed into each other meaning they could cover more content. The only problem was that the rigidity of the practice made dancing much less fun. He’d never thought he might view dancing as a chore. At least I’ll be much better than Sebby next time we dance.
The practice also gained him some levels in [Stable Hoofing] bringing it to level 6.
Aoife continued taking him out in the afternoons to train up his combat-related skills as well as helping him gain levels.
About three weeks after the ball Jem reached Level 10 and something new happened with his class.
*Ding* You have reached level 10 in [The Lost Child] You have unlocked the class skill [Blade Dance].
[Blade Dance(passive)] As you move with blade in hand gain insight into actions you could take, movements, and motions that suit your body. Practice and improve your ability to dance with blade in hand. Does not apply during combat.
Jem asked Ayo about it and she said that if it had been an ability that just made him better without teaching skills it would be a complete waste unless he intended to keep it forever, but an ability that improves the quality of his learning could always be removed later to no detriment while providing a potentially large benefit. Jem removed [Poison Resistance Lvl 0 (P)] and replaced it with [Blade Dance Lvl 0 (P)].
Jem found that the skill gave him little nudges during training that helped him improve his hoofwork dramatically, it was all in the small details. When Jem first started following the instructions Ayo was taken aback, but after she properly examined the changes, she agreed that they were good and started using the changes to Jem's movements to assess the differences his legs encouraged so she could make her training suit him even better.
In their next closet meeting, Nessa brought up something important.
“We need to get Jem up to level 19 so we can do the bloodline trial before university starts. The choice is up to Jem but ideally, we want him to choose a bloodline that can help him disguise his identity.
“Jem do have any objections against taking your bloodline trial in that direction?”
Jem thought on it, truly and properly. He’d read about bloodlines and there were definitely some options he’d choose over something like what Nessa said if they did come up but he was more or less on board. “If there is nothing that will drastically improve my ability to work spells, or will instantly deal with the mark, I will go for something that can help in that direction.”
Nessa nodded her head in acknowledgment. It was apparent to him that she knew just how much he wanted to do magic, even if it was something that felt relatively mundane to them. She clearly also agreed that anything that could deal with the mark in one go was worthwhile too. Jem reluctantly acquiesced internally that he would pass up on the magical bloodline option to deal with the mark. If there is even anything related to them.
After the meeting Jem continued his usual schedule, only there was a larger effort on Aoife’s part to help him gain levels quickly. It was when he reached level 18 that they slowed down to make sure there was no risk of overshooting past the level 19 threshold.
After Jem hit level 19 Karim helped Jem mimic his Kol manipulation class skill. Jem didn’t unlock it as a class skill quite yet but his proficiency was growing.
One week before the term was due to start, Jem went to the temple to begin his bloodline trial.
(Stats) Abridged)
Name: Jem Asterion
True Name:
Age: 21
– – – – –
Stats:
Vitality: 63 (+7.5%)
Wisdom: 135 (+7.5%)
Toughness: 56 (+7.5%)
Intelligence: 56 (+7.5%)
Strength: 61 (+7.5%)
Dexterity: 70 (+7.5%)
– – – – –
Classes:
Starting Class: [The Lost Child S*] Lvl 19
Modifiers: [Uncapped], [+4 Stats(R)], [Enhance Class Skill: Emulate] and [Expert Skill Descriptions]
Stats Per Level: [All Stats +2], [Free Allocation: +4] and [Randomly assigned +4]
Class Skills 3/3: [Alcohol Immunity Lvl 0 (P)(L)], [Blade Dance Lvl 0 (P)] and [Emulate Lvl 3 (e)(L)]
Further Class Information Locked
– – – – –
General Skills 12/12: [Identify (E) Lvl 3], [Altered Presence (P)(L) (B) Lvl 4], [Damage Smamage (A) Lvl 3], [Stable Hoofing (C) Lvl 9], [Self Aware (D) Lvl 3], [Flame Retardant (P) (C) Lvl 6], [Thought Management(B) Lvl 4], [Lighting Resistance (P) (C) Lvl 5], [Attention Regulation(D) Lvl 3], [Unflinching (P) (D) Lvl 3], [Meditation (D) Lvl 0] and [Analyse Skill (D) Lvl 3]
– – – – –
System Presence: 1741
Tongue and Tooth of Faith and Fae