As it turned out, ⦓Otherworldly Resolve⦔ made it so that Desmond didn’t need to sleep. Or, at the very least, it lessened the impact that not sleeping had on him, or something like that. Regardless, it let him stay awake that night, which he appreciated.
For obvious reasons, he didn’t trust sleeping with Euric and his companion watching his back, so he simply sat up in his tree and kept an eye on them for the night.
Euric tried, and failed, to stay up and keep an eye on him as well, but the meathead fell asleep after about an hour of trying to match Desmond's vigilance. After that, he was certain that he probably could’ve gone to sleep and safely woken up before they could get up and try to do anything.
When he laid his head back to try, however, he realized he wasn’t tired and that he was much too cautious to try and sleep anyways.
So he stayed awake, silently watching the clearing from his vantage point in the tree like he was an owl. For a long time, it was quiet. Of course, considering it was the middle of the night, this didn’t come as a surprise to Desmond. But, eventually, he came to the conclusion that it was extremely boring.
So he started trying to level up his skills, instead.
Before he’d left Calcheth, he’d come to the realization that it was impossible to level ⦓Small Blades Proficiency⦔ without a target to use it on. So simply slashing at the air constantly and trying to improve his technique would do nothing. Technically, the gluttony demon continued to count as a target, even as a corpse, which gave him the chance to train even while just living day-to-day.
But he had no target now. Realistically, he could simply attack a tree if he was that desperate to level, but that was dumb for several reasons. For one, it would be too loud. The last thing he wanted was to wake up the meathead and have to deal with his posturing again. Two, it would dull the blade of his knife. It wasn’t a real weapon in the first place, so he had to be careful to keep it in good shape.
‘There’s no telling when I’ll be able to replace it, after all.’ He thought, slipping the knife back into his jacket. He glanced down into the clearing, taking note of the shortswords that the thieves carried. ‘It’d be nice if I could get one of those. It might be a little too long to qualify as a “small blade”, though.’
Leveling up ⦓Survival⦔ was much the same. He could only level it by utilizing the skill for its intended purposes; that being ‘surviving’ in general. It seemed that it revolved around him taking care of himself in nature; things like foraging, cooking, and hunting for food fell under the overall umbrella of the skill, so doing more of those things would probably level the skill further.
⦓Otherworldly Resolve⦔ worked the same way, yet it was even more complicated. It defended him from foreign effects passively but because of that, he couldn’t level it intentionally. The only way it would ever level is if he was put under the effects of something that would require Otherworldly Resolve to defend him. It was a difficult skill to deal with, most likely because of how powerful it had the potential to be.
‘But there’s no reason to try and level ⦓Survival⦔ or ⦓Otherworldly Resolve⦔ right now,’ Desmond hummed. ‘I’ll be in Sayavila soon, so I won’t need to focus on them. I’ll just let them level naturally and hope for the best.’
All in all, that really only left one option for a skill to level at all. It just so happened to be his main skill, anyways.
‘⦓Eye For Detail⦔. What an amazing skill.’ Really, in terms of all his skills, it was easily the most powerful. It let him study things, people, creatures and objects down to the most minute detail. When stressed, he could even use it to find weaknesses or weak points in things as well. It even worked on people, much like the meathead before.
‘But using it on others like that gives me a killer headache...’ He pondered, absentmindedly rubbing the side of his head. Even pushing the skill for such a short time as he had earlier had sent a shock through his brain and down his spine. He could still feel the ripples of it, even now.
‘Maybe if I level it further, straining it will hurt less?’ He thought, cupping his chin in thought. ‘Hm. Well, I’ll have to see if it changes after leveling it up one more time. It takes so long to level, though, especially now...is it because it’s a Personal Skill?’
Desmond hummed quietly, looking down toward the clearing. After experimenting a tad, he came to the realization that ⦓Eye For Detail⦔ currently had a maximum range of about eight meters. He remembered, back when the skill was still at level one, that its maximum range was about two meters.
‘So it doubles with every level, then? It would have been four meters, max, at level two, if that were the case, and it will become sixteen meters at level four.’ He smirked, almost laughing to himself before he remembered how late it was and put a hand over his mouth. ‘I wonder what its maximum level is? And its maximum range? This is so cool!’
His legs swung off the side of the branch, kicking in the air slowly as he squinted down at the sleeping thieves. Squinting, he looked at the meathead first and activated ⦓Eye For Detail⦔.
[Euric] - Urchin Lv. 3
[You are superior to this person in all stats.]
[This person is currently benefiting from a skill.]
‘It’s nice to know that it lists his name after I’ve learned it.’ Desmond furrowed his brow, looking down at Euric with a raised eyebrow. ‘But a skill? I didn’t think you could use skills while asleep. Though...maybe it’s a sleep related skill?’
He hummed, nodding, before turning to use the skill on the woman as well. He still hadn’t learned her name—the time to ask just hadn’t popped up, nor had Euric said it like she’d said his—so he didn’t expect to see much of anything new.
[???] - Urchin Lv. 4
[You are superior to this person in all stats.]
[This person is currently benefiting from a skill.]
‘Yep. Still no name. But they’re both benefiting from a skill in their sleep.’ Desmond tapped his chin in thought. ‘They’re both called Urchins, but that probably has to do with how they lived when they were awakened, same as me. From the way they spoke to each other, they’re probably close...so there’s a chance they have the same skill and got it around the same time.’
Eventually, he looked away from the thieves and instead began to look over as many things within range of ⦓Eye For Detail⦔ as he could. There were no animals nearby—at least, none that he could see—so he found himself simply looking over the trees, bushes, leaves, and anything else in sight.
‘Well, whatever. I’ll find an excuse to ask what it is in the morning, I guess.’ He reasoned as he continued to train his skill. ‘I should probably ask her what her name is first, actually. It’s kind of rude to start grilling someone about their skills before even knowing their name.’
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Desmond paused, quirking his lips to the side in an angry, almost sneering, fashion.
“Then again, they were talking about selling me, so...”
►⚉◄
Much to Desmond's surprise, the time for them to move out came much sooner than expected.
He was on his fourth hour of using Eye For Detail, trying to level it up but to no avail, when he heard commotion in the clearing below, breaking his attention. He glanced down, only to see the thieves waking up and beginning to move.
‘Huh? It’s only been...five hours, I think?’ He reasoned, swinging his legs over the edge of the branch he sat on to watch them. ‘They’re up earlier than expected.’
Euric rose from his spot under the tree and stretched, yawning as loudly as an ox as his ministrations popped his joints almost as loudly. Even just watching him made Desmond sneer, but Euric paid him no mind and walked over to his companion, who was similarly rising from her spot on the ground.
Desmond watched as they stood and gathered their things and decided that now was as good a time as any to get moving. Bag secured over his shoulder, he quickly hopped down to the ground, landing lightly on his feet and surprisingly quietly.
‘Huh. Maybe it’s because of my Finesse? I couldn’t jump that high before, either.’ He thought, looking down at his own feet as he walked toward the others. ‘I think it affects how fast I am, too. It’s probably smart to keep putting points into that.’
As he approached, he noticed Euric and his companion whispering to each other. He couldn’t hear them, but by their expressions, he could assume they were talking about his inclusion on their trip back to Sayavila.
The easy smile he had been wearing very quickly turned sour before he reigned himself in and let it fall neutral once more.
“You two are up early.” He commented once he’d gotten to them. Euric turned in his direction, his expression immediately morphing into a scowl. The woman, on the other hand, tried to smile reassuringly, though she still looked nervous. He turned to her and opened his mouth, as if to speak, before shutting it again.
“Sorry. I never asked you your name. That was rude of me.” He bowed his head to her, though it was mostly just a nicety. “You can call me Desmond.”
She made a strange noise—something of a mix between a squeak and a cry of shock—before she very quickly nodded her head in response. Her hands hovered in the air, as if she wasn’t sure what to do with them.
“Wha-what? Uh...yeah, no it’s...it’s fine, kid,” She responded, then slapped her own forehead, correcting herself. “Desmond. Don’t worry about it. My name’s Arika.”
Desmond hummed in response, very quickly activating ⦓Eye For Detail⦔ to check its readings and confirm that her name was now shown to him. Arika continued onward, however, completely unaware.
“And this jackass,” She leaned to her left, elbowing the meathead in the side and making him yelp in response. “Is Euric. But I’m pretty sure you heard me say his name at least once already.”
“Hey! Why do I get the shitty introduction?!” He objected, crossing his arms over his burly chest. He opened his mouth to continue, but Desmond cut him off.
“Mm. I don’t really care about him, though.” He interrupted. Euric turned to him, his face red with anger, as the young boy continued, unfettered. “I was just being nice.”
Arika snickered, covering her mouth with a hand as Euric tried, and failed, to keep his anger contained. He jutted out a finger toward Desmond, his brow furrowed angrily.
“Oy, kid. Didn’t anyone ever tell you to respect your elders?” His voice was lower, as if they were sharing some kind of secret. He took a step forward, leaning over Desmond and making the boy have to crane his neck backwards to look up at him. “You’re like, what, seven years old? Watch your mouth, dammit.”
‘This guy never stops...’ Desmond sighed, shaking his head. “I’m eight. The same eight year old that dropped you twice.”
Desmond stepped around Euric, deliberately bumping his shoulder against the man’s leg as he moved past him without sparing him a second glance. Arika gaped, watching as Desmond walked a few feet past her before turning around again. Once more, his eyes glowed that same purple light before turning pink.
“And I can do it again. Easily.” His expression could only be considered a glare, though it quickly melted back into neutrality soon after. The pink glow of his eyes faded and he turned around, walking off again. “Stop being a jerk. It doesn’t make you look cool.”
Euric expression warped again, but before he was able to say anything further, Arika snickered at him and began to move; following after Desmond as he hoisted her pack fully onto her shoulders.
“Kid’s got a point, Euric,” She called out to him, watching as he slowly and dejectedly began to follow from a distance. “You could stand to be less of an ass. Especially to people you just met.”
Desmond snorted, slowing down to match pace with Arika and to glance back at Euric in turn.
“Maybe don’t talk about selling them off where they can hear you, either,” He added. “I’ve heard it doesn’t go over well.”
Arika snickered while Euric groaned out loud, taking large strides until he caught up with them and crossed his arms. Desmond heard him exhale deeply, his heavy footfalls practically crashing into the ground compared to both his and Arika’s. It was a wonder he was a successful thief at all, in Desmond's opinion.
Euric clicked his tongue in agitation, but said nothing in response; Instead choosing to move further ahead to clear the trees and foliage out of the way of Arika and Desmond's path. They continued to traverse through the forest in silence, with Euric taking the lead to slash through any dense foliage that crossed their path.
Soon, they finally breached the barrier of trees of the forest and emerged out onto a rough, dirt road. Arika hummed, a small smile on her face, as she turned back to Desmond and pointed down the road in one direction.
“Sayavila’s that way. We’ll take you there, but you gotta follow our lead, alright?” She put both hands on her hips, leaning over to match his eye level. “Like we said, it’s full of scumbags. It’s dangerous just to look at the wrong people, you hear?”
Desmond nodded in response and Arika let out a soft sigh, standing back up.
“Alright. It’ll take about a week to get there, anyway, so we can fill you in on the way.” She pulled her pack around her front, rifling through it for a moment, a disappointed expression slipping over her face.
“Euric, how many rations do you have left?” She turned to face her fellow thief, who followed suit and dug through his bag.
“Just enough for the rest of the week.” He raised an eyebrow, very quickly glancing at Desmond before looking at Arika again. “Enough for one, anyway. You know, as per usual.”
Arika frowned, while Desmond merely rolled his eyes in response.
‘Well, that makes sense. I wouldn’t be keen on sharing, either, if I was in their position.’ Desmond thought absent-mindedly. Before Arika had a chance to speak again, he put his hand up to stop her.
“It’s fine. You don’t have to worry about me.” When Arika and Euric both turned to him, questioning looks on their faces, he simply held up his bag. “I have food for myself. Plus, if I run out, I can hunt a little, too.”
Euric seemed to scowl, but Arika simply beamed in his direction before crossing her arms proudly.
“Huh! You’re a resourceful kid, aren’t you? Alright, that works out, then!” She grinned cheerfully, turning around to smirk at Euric. The man groaned aloud before simply turning away as Arika looked to Desmond again. “Well, that’s perfect. Just follow after us. Go where we go, Rest when we rest, and hide when we hide, got it?”
Desmond nodded in response, to which Arika smiled and nodded in turn.
“Good. Maybe we can even teach you a thing or two about surviving on your own, huh, Desmond?” She smirked before turning around to follow after Euric. Desmond in turn simply hummed in response before following as well.
‘Hm. Maybe. They know more than me, so it definitely couldn’t hurt.’ He thought as he trailed after Arika. ‘Let’s hope, then. The more I know, the better, after all.’