Chapter 40: Next Project
CLEO
The moment the arena cooled down again and Tristan hit the ground, Cleo was at his side. As always, her skills worked at a blistering speed in those first crucial seconds. [Identify], [Assessment], and [Diagnosis] all provided their immediate readouts, making sense of all the contextual information that could potentially prove relevant or useful. In this case that included the ambient temperature, an estimate of the heat he’d survived based on the degree to which the arena had melted around him, and expected damage reports. Those were proving less reliable than normal though, based on the duration of the burn and the fact that Jamal hadn’t used the skill at full power. That was the only reason the normally-lethal [Dragon’s Breath] hadn’t also resulted in a small-scale natural disaster.
She still worried that he hadn’t held back nearly enough.
Tristan’s skin was crispy, even charred around the edges, but his clothes were surprisingly intact. Her initial [Assessment] had shown that the situation wasn’t nearly as serious as it had looked. Somehow, despite losing an enormous 75% chunk of his HP in one attack, Tristan’s injuries were almost entirely superficial.
It could have been so much worse, she thought, especially if he hadn’t been such a quick study. But, as she well knew by now, he was. So why did he pass out?
[Extract True Status] showed that her [Identify] hadn’t been incorrect in the slightest: it hadn’t been the HP damage that had sent the boy into unconsciousness, as he was still well above 0. In fact, the moment he awoke, his body would be fine. No, he had overtaxed his spirit.
Jamal should have never taught him that technique in tier 2!
But he had. He had, and he hadn’t run it past her in advance. At least he’d thought enough of the risk to actually invite her to the training session. In retrospect, perhaps the lack of consultation should have been the first red flag.
And now this had happened.
It’s not as bad as it looks, she reminded herself. It’s just a flesh wound.
Cleo still placed a gentle hand on the center of Tristan’s chest where she knew all too well his scar hid. She cast [Full Heal] despite it being taxing on her mana and knowing it would all essentially be wasteful overhealing. She could live with that, though, as it guaranteed that he was safe.
They’re a pair of fools. A pair of brilliant, reckless fools.
She straightened Tristan’s body on the ground, trusting that someone else would come along and take him back to his room.
Then she spun to face Jamal. She saw him clearly for the first time since he’d raised his hand and cast that ridiculous AoE spell that could have roasted the tier 2 swordsmith alive. A venom she hadn’t expected coated the words she fired Jamal’s way.
“You should have gone easier on him. That was a twelve-second burn! Were you trying to kill him?!”
Yet despite her uncharacteristic zeal, the playboy alarmingly had a complete lack of reaction. It wasn’t even his usual, affected apathy either. He hadn’t pulled out a drink or even smoothed his hair yet. No, Cleo was now recognizing that the man hadn’t spoken a single word since he’d launched his [Dragon’s Breath]. Instead, he was examining his hand, turning it over in something akin to amazement.
He was acting strangely, for sure, but that still didn’t excuse him. She activated her [Stoicism] so that none of his charisma would influence what she felt needed to be said. “That was blatant disregard for such a promising pupil’s life. Why did you push for so long?”
“Because he could take it,” Jamal replied in a strangely soft voice. “Ever since his first lesson--Do you remember? He got back up, over and over again! Despite me telling him to stay down, the boy just never wanted to quit. So yeah, that’s how I’ve taught him ever since. I’ve pushed him, and I’ve pushed him harder than anyone else would ever be willing to--but only because he can take it. And he bloody well learns from it, Cleo! Look at him. He did take it. Despite it being a twelve-second burn."
Cleo stood up and closed the gap between them, putting herself directly in front of the idiot’s face. “You may say that, but I still can’t get behind how hard you’ve pushed him these past few days! It’s no wonder you didn’t consult me first; I’d have never allowed it!”
“Cleo,” Jamal said, stopping her rant before she could really get started. He was blinking at her then, and a smile had spread across his ridiculously handsome face. “Cleo!” he repeated and he put his open arms lightly against her own, “Scan me!”
“What?” she asked, clearly doubting that she’d heard him correctly. But when the man merely shook his head slightly and his smile never wavered, she did as he’d asked. She started with her upgraded [Identify] quickly followed by [Assessment], worried that perhaps she’d missed something important... and she clearly had, as the bolded changes on the top line displayed.
[Marquis Jamal Quicksteel, Human, level 80 [T3/T4(pending)] swordmaster]
100% HP, 95% Stamina, Status: Normal
{{The Unerring Blade}}
“You leveled?” she asked in disbelief.
“Three times,” he responded, with his voice full of awe. “I can tier-up at last.”
“You completed your quest,” she whispered.
Jamal nodded.
“How is that possible?”
It was only then that Cleo saw his eyes had moved beyond her to where the unconscious boy was on the ground. His smile still had not dimmed. “I taught him. And he was genuinely worthy.”
Cleo left him in his reverie. She tried to be happy for her friend, recalling how he’d all but given up hope of ever tiering up. Yet it was still her responsibility to make sure he realized how foolish what he’d done had been. It wasn’t worth risking Tristan’s life, no matter how great he was as a pupil. She would have to make him understand that later because she wasn’t going to ruin this for him now.
Her hand rose and touched her scarred cheek. Sometimes you’ll wish you hadn’t.
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- - - - -
TRISTAN
Tristan woke with a start, still remembering the image of Jamal’s shocked face. Of course, the moment he opened his eyes, golden light flooded in as the power that had been building and waiting within him was finally released in the golden glow that surrounded him with an unmistakable ding!
Congratulations! You have reached LEVEL 13!
The swordsman Class has reached LEVEL 5!
Skills Earned:
[Chosen Foe] An active ability allowing the user to designate up to one target. The selected target deals 15% less damage to you.
Tristan blinked, reading his newest skill with excitement but also a bit of wry humor. It was another way to reduce incoming damage, which was amazing. If only I’d earned it a day sooner.
Still, he had survived Jamal’s attack even without being able to mark him as a [Chosen Foe]. Though, the more Tristan thought about it, he really didn’t love that ability name. Thinking about how he’d likely use it going forward, if he was only going to be marking one person at a time, that kind of felt to him like dueling. And his mind couldn’t help but drift back to Bernhardt. Then farther back, to Aaric. This skill would be another tool to help him outlast the frost mage the next time they clashed. And the time after that, because of course there’d be another one.
Nodding to himself, Tristan pulled up his skills from within his Status. He stared at [Chosen Foe] one last time, then with a conscious effort changed its name.
[Rivalry] An active ability allowing the user to designate a target. The selected target deals 15% less damage to you.
Tristan smiled, fully satisfied.
As much as he loved leveling up, Tristan also knew he had more he needed to deal with. He got out of bed and gave himself a quick once-over in front of the mirror. What he saw wasn’t surprising, because while he’d taken a full AoE blast of fire from his teacher from only a few steps away. Fresh pink skin covered large sections of his body, from where the burns had been healed away. Tristan knew that he’d reduced the attack’s damage as much as he possibly could have.
He also wasn’t surprised when shortly after he was up and moving around, Cherry came in to check on him, delivering her usual information and, of course, his schedule.
When he’d asked her how long he’d been out this time, she’d shaken her head and asked, ”Do you just take for granted almost dying every lesson?”
“Come on! I wasn’t even close to dead this time,” he shot back. “Besides, I got a new skill that should help me not die a lot better in the future!”
Cherry just shook her head. “See, and now I’m worried about your mental health, too. But, to answer your questions, you were only out overnight, which means you’ve still got a handful of hours before Jamal wakes up, and then an hour or so before your session. Enjoy your morning.”
But before she could leave, Tristan called out again. “Wait, Cherry, one more thing!” While he could hear the dismissal in her words, he was still full of excitement. When she looked back, he held up his hands in a pleading sort of surrender. “I just need you for a second. There’s something I’ve been wondering about for a while now.”
“Go on,” Cherry said, taking two steps back into the room.
Tristan composed himself and tried to put his thoughts in order. “A while back, I was traveling with a much higher-leveled person, a scout type that was easily tier 3 or 4, and he was telling me that it was possible to... upgrade my [Identify]?” He hadn’t meant it to really be a question, so he hurried to add more. “I mean, I know for a fact that it’s possible to upgrade the skill. But I was wondering if there was also gear that can do that, too.”
Cherry blinked rapidly. “Well, that was definitely unexpected. But yes, it is possible, just not easy. What did you have in mind?”
Tristan perked up. “What I’d love to do is add the ability to see Classes to my [Identify], and as knowledgeable as you seem to be about things, I thought I’d ask you.”
Cherry laughed slightly. “You know I’d help you even without the flattery, right?”
Tristan grinned back at her. “I do, but a little kindness goes a long way. Besides, it’s true.”
The woman laughed outright at that. “You’re not wrong. So, how are you hoping to upgrade your [Identify]?”
“Well,” Tristan began, “could I do it with gear? Does gear like that exist?”
“It does.”
“Then I was hoping you could tell me how others tend to get or make it. Is it a Class skill, or a Quest reward, or what?”
Cherry sighed. “That’s actually something I’m not sure about. I know upgrading [Identify] is possible, but from everything I’ve heard, most of the time those upgrades are simply given to Classes that need it. Healers almost always get it, and quite early to boot.”
“How early?” Tristan asked. “Early like in Tier 2?”
“Usually, yes.”
Bolts of inspiration began to race through Tristan’s mind. “OK, then that’s not working against me either. When do items that upgrade it start being seen?” He asked, turning his attention back to the assistant.
“Well, first of all, they’re rather rare. But the earliest I’ve heard of that can add any functionality to [Identify] tend to be tier 3–-"
“Tend to be?” Tristan cut in, “so it’s possible they could come sooner? Great, then I’m going to make it happen!" He turned around and literally ran back to where he’d set up his [Portable Forge] and [Crafting Materials Bag], where he began digging through what little he had left. As a growth item, its capacity had continued to grow as he leveled, but the supply of materials seemed to have almost diminished accordingly.
He barely remembered to say, “Thanks, Cherry! You’re the best!” before he pulled out several small scraps of metal and a few gems.
He didn’t realize that she’d already left by then, having understood all too well what the manic glint in his eyes meant.
Tristan spent the next four hours planning and preparing for what would undoubtedly be his next big crafting marathon. He knew he didn’t have time for it before his lesson with Jamal, and he absolutely wouldn’t try to rush it. This was too important.
In the end, he’d settled on bracers for his first serious attempt. Mostly because he didn’t currently have a good pair. Sure, bracers weren’t as nice as a breastplate or pauldrons or the like, but all of those larger pieces would run him out of stock in one craft.
That was assuming he could figure out how to make such a property on his own in the first place.
Sure, he could try to upgrade the skill naturally, but he'd never done that before, while he'd done a lot of crafting. He felt far more confident in his ability to succeed this way. And besides, it would give him EXP to craft it, so it just made sense.
That was why he also made a promise to himself that--no matter what--he would find a way to stay conscious through his session with Jamal today. He would then seek out Cleo not due to injuries but to ask her a few questions, now that he knew about healers getting upgraded [Identify]. She was by far the best healer he’d ever heard of, and certainly better than Opie. Hopefully she would be able to shine some light on the whole upgrading process, so he could rush back to his room and get to work on boosting his own skill once and for all.
It wasn’t the simplest of plans, and it had a lot of possible flaws, but for some reason Tristan felt really good about it. In truth, he just liked having a clear ‘next project’ ahead of him now that his sword was complete. What was a crafter, after all, without a good project to occupy his or her mind?
That was why, when Tristan practically ran out to the arena at the scheduled time, and he saw Jamal standing there not with a practice sword but with another fighter who was holding a very real, very beautiful, blacksteel greatsword, Tristan wanted to curse.
The other fighter had sharp black scales that seemed to flow up his arms, which were already poised and at the ready. In the exact spot in the arena where Jamal always stood before they began sparring.
As soon as Jamal saw him, he called out, “A new challenger has appeared!” with much too much enthusiasm, pointing directly at Tristan. “Into the ring, young {Student of Jamal}!” Then his voice deepened as it was infused with presence:
“Test your might!”
Shit, Tristan thought. He’s gotta stop making me fight people out of nowhere.