So, he's checking up on me? “Calmar is alright, even after I laid him out.”
His eyebrows raised, “How? He’s older and has almost 15 centimeters on you.”
“Momentum.” I said with a smug grin. “That, and apparently it was a cheap shot. At least that's the skill I got.”
The Captain nodded his head a little like he was trying to decide something. “Reflexive? I'm guessing. Might mean you have skills that aren't active yet.”
“I asked about skills, and Porter said they act more as an indicator of skill without doing anything.” I responded with what I knew. “Is he wrong?”
“Yes and no. The answer is complicated based on the skill.” He shook his head, “Not why I'm here.”
“Yea, I was wondering about that. You seem rather important to come check on me yourself.” I was suspicious, but to be fair I was also hopelessly lost in the world.
“I heard your brother was here looking for the report on your incident. I need to know if you want it released to him.” He shrugged, “And I'm checking up on a survivor of a serial killer.”
Makes sense. My suspicion wasn't gone, but I didn't have a reason not to trust him, yet. “Go for it. Maybe they'll stop asking about it then.”
“And Second Chance?” He asked.
I stiffened. The priest had said I shouldn't bring it up. Did I have a choice here, though? “How bad would it be if it wasn't included?”
The captain shrugged, “There'll be a hole, but I can just say it was withheld at the request of the victim. They'll probably ask, but then it's on you to decide.”
“Leave it out then. I assume it'll still be on an official report, though.” I had a feeling, and wanted to know if it was right.
“Yes, but only a few people will have access. If it becomes public knowledge, they'll be executed.” He said with a grim expression.
I was taken by surprise and flinched my head back a bit. “Seems a little harsh. It's not THAT important to me.”
He waved off my concern, “Standard procedure for leaks from the information department. There's a lot of information worth more than a life in there.”
“...that makes me feel worse, not better.” I said bluntly.
He snorted out a harsh laugh, “In any case, I've sent my second message to release the public copy to them.”
“From here?” I likely looked as confused as I was.
He smirked, “Perks of actually maxing the Guard class before Soldier. Keep that in mind, never underestimate the perks you get from maxed out classes.”
I looked at my level 3 Noble class. “I'll keep it in mind…”
“Now, unless there's anything else?” He said, fully expecting a question.
I suddenly had a feeling. “...you know I don't remember your name, don't you.”
Assessment has ranked up
Assessment: Tier 1, Rank 0
Congratulations! You have-
I minimized the notification as he laughed, loud and full of mirth, “I had guessed, yes. I take it Assessment went up?”
I nodded with a sigh. “I remembered it started with an S.”
“Severn. It was good to see you again, Lady Danielle. Tell Samuel that he's welcome to watch from inside the barracks walls, too. Perception training is important for guards, and having someone watching is good practice for public service.”
I nodded, “I might join him a few times too. Have a good day, Captain Severn.”
With a small bow of his head, he turned about face and headed back towards the barracks.
Shaking my head, I headed back to Samuel, who was blushing from embarrassment. I didn't get back on the seat, though. “He said you could watch from inside the walls, if you wanted.”
His face went a shade redder and I thought he was going to burst into flames. “R-right… Please don't tell your brother about my habit.”
I smiled up at him, “Don't worry about it. There are worse hobbies to have than consensual voyeurism. I'm sure.”
The boy seemed to wilt and I gave him mercy by heading back into the carriage and taking a seat. I opened my status to give it a check.
Name: Danielle Rosecrest
Age: 17
Race: Human
Class: Noble 3
Class EXP: 203/400
Experience Bank: 0/1000
Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
Unspent Attribute Points: 0
Statistics
Physical
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 12
Agility: 12
Endurance: 10
Constitution: 10
Mental
Intelligence: 14
Insight: 11
Charisma: 12
Perception: 10
Magic
Mana: 3
Mana Control: 1
Mana Power: 1
Skills
Assessment: Tier 1, Rank 0
Unarmed Combat Tier 0, Rank 4
Cheap Shot Tier 0, Rank 1
Mana Sense: Tier 0, Rank 1
Speed Reading: Tier 0, Rank 1
Traits
Noble Birth
Experience Conversion
Experience Absorption
Moderator’s Veil
Second Chance
Spells
Healing: Tier 0 Rank 1
Scan: Tier 0 Rank 1
What am I getting experience for? It seems pretty inconsistent. Is it for leveling a skill? Unlike the moderator manual, I didn't have a general one. There likely was one, but I wouldn't even know how to access it. And would it even be accurate?
Reading through it, I paused. Wait… did my Insight increase? I brought up the notification I minimized.
Assessment has ranked up
Assessment: Tier 1, Rank 0
Congratulations! You have increased the Tier of your Assessment skill.
The following has been granted for this achievement:
- +1 Insight
- +100 Experience
- Assessment now will now work on animals.
Please be aware, that other things may have been unlocked due to this accomplishment that are not listed here.
Wait… skills can increase stats? Is it a flat amount each Tier? Does it change in value? Just like usual, I had more questions thanks to the system.
I didn’t get long to ponder as I heard voices outside. As the door opened, I saw Porter looking inside with a stern expression. When he saw me, alone and presumably secure, he stepped back and let Calmar into the carriage.
“Just because it was unlocked didn’t mea-” Calmar started.
“My lord, I am just being thorough.” Porter interrupted, clearly not caring for niceties.
Once they settled in, the carriage started moving and Calmar gave me a stern look. “So, I take it, you wanted some fresh air?”
I shrugged, “I was bored and decided to talk to Samuel for a few minutes.”
Calmar blinked, “You were… bored. That’s your excuse.” His expression darkened.
And I was having none of it. “Keep looking at me like that and I’ll smack you hard enough to see stars, Porter be damned.”
Calmar flinched back, surprise evident. Porter blinked in confusion. Calmar was the first to recover. “What’s a star?”
It was my turn to look dumbfounded. “What do you mean what’s a star? They’re the small dots in the sky at night.”
The other two in the carriage looked at each other. “Porter, have you ever heard of such a thing?”
He shook his head, “Never seen anything. Might have to ask someone with a library.”
My brother rolled his eyes, “Well, in either case,” He turned to look at me, the serious look diminished from before. “Stars or no, I’m just… worried.”
Sighing, I thunked the back of my head against the carriage wall and looked towards the roof, “I get it. It’s frustrating, but I get it.”
“Right, well as long as we understand each other.” He cleared his throat and looked back at Porter, “Do you remember what we were talking about before going into the barracks?”
“Guards and why they don’t pick the guard class.” Porter said after a moment of consideration.
“Right!” Calmar said with feigned enthusiasm. “The simple answer is, because most guards get hired after they’ve already had their path set. You can’t change a Ranger or a Pugilist into a Guard. Most of them are either Sneak or Trainee based classes that found out they didn’t like fighting monsters for PEC. Usually the hard way.”
My brow furrowed, “Aren’t people worse, though?”
Calmar tilted his head, but Porter nodded gravely. “You’ve the right of it, though I shouldn’t be surprised after what you’ve been through.”
The noble man gulped and turned white as a sheet before he looked away, “They… had images taken of the scene.”
“How?” That sounded interesting. “Was it magical or technological?”
“Techno-what?” Calmar asked in confusion, “No, it’s a simple spell most mages in the guard know, Capture Image. The higher level it is, the more detailed it is.” He looked like he was going to be sick, “There… was a lot of detail…”
Porter patted the man on his knee, “She’s safe, now. It probably looked worse than it was… right?” He said, and his head turned to look at me.
I considered my words carefully. Multiple people had told me not to reveal Second Chance, though some part of me had a twisted urge to do so right at this moment. I shoved that down, since it would only cause issues.
“No, it was bad. But I’m here, right? I saw a priest of Melrose soon after the incident who looked me over.” Not the whole truth, but certainly enough of it.
I minimized it before it could say anything else. They didn’t seem to notice, Porter watching Calmar and Calmar trying to avoid looking at me by staring out the window. I should probably see that report…
“Mind if I see it?” I asked.
“Absolutely not.” Calmar said, sitting upright and looking at me. “And I promise that nothing like that will ever happen to you again.”
Porter frowned, and started to say something, before I leaned forward and reached out. I took Calmar’s hand in mind, which was awkward since it was almost twice the size of mine. Then I looked him in the eyes, “You can’t promise that.”
He gaped at me, “Wh-”
I interrupted him. “Do not make promises you have no way of keeping. It is wasteful of the trust you build. And worse,” I smiled sadly, “Someone might believe you.”