Unexpected rewards

-22nd day of AC, 22.04.1052-

-Time: 22:30-

-Location: Aria's flat, Silvana-

Travis rubbed his eyes a little. With a quick motion, he dismissed the notifications cluttering his field of view. Then, he immediately summoned them back and studied the letters again. However, they did not change from before. RALS was clearly speaking of a 'title' or some such.

Slowly deciding to discard them, he summoned his status.

[Name: Travis Salliv

Class: Apostle of Tricks & Manipulation

Titles: Apostle of Justice

Level: 59

...]

'...there you are.' he focused his eyes on the line of text. 'So, it's not a joke... but the category is plural. Multiple titles are possible.'

...

'What does this do?' Travis sent the message with the intent of asking the system. In an instant, a small panel appeared.

[Title: Apostle of Justice

A proof of your conviction to fight against the bitter darkness of this world.

*All stats increased by 5 points.

*All stats will increase by 20% when HP drops below 10%.

*The power of all mental magic is increased by 2% per ally by your side, up to 10%. (Current: 2%)]

Travis dismissed the panel and brought a hand to his temple. Whilst massaging his skin, he thought about what this meant. Comparing it to what he already knew, one thing was clear.

'A title can give me stat points...' he nodded lightly, opening his status in full and confirming the changes.

[Strength: 93 (+5)

Agility: 133 (+5)

Endurance: 118 (+5)

Intelligence: 147 (+5)

Wisdom: 91 (+5)

Sense: 93 (+5)

AP: 15

SP: 1]

'The effect of the title is in brackets... is it related to it being a title, or is it some other function?' the thought rang in his head for a moment before he dismissed it. 'Well, the other effects are pretty good, too, even if the latter requires me to form a team to work. I am planning on doing that at some point anyway.'

A short sigh escaped his mouth before his eyes gazed upon Rulebreaker's Piece again. Deciding against waiting any longer, he activated it. As the flash of light subsided, a snippet of paper flew into his hand.

=The item trilogy ends with ego items=

'Item trilogy... the other two were 'item rating' and 'growth-type'. Now... ego?'

[Ego is a tricky concept to comprehend, but I’ll do my best to explain it. In the most basic sense, ‘ego’ is a set of emotions that a blacksmith emanates during their work on an item. Those emotions can be embedded into the object and mixed to create what is known as ‘ego’. However, only exceptionally strong emotions can do that, and the chance is minimal even then.

In another sense, ‘ego’ is kind of like a simple soul given to an item. But of course, you must be wondering: why even bother with this explanation?

Ego items are powerful, even when compared to items of the same rating. The power difference fluctuates from pair to pair, but generally, you can expect between 20 to 30% increased stats.

Regardless, the true power of ego items stems from another fact: they can move on their own. Blacksmiths who created them have some degree of control over them even when not wielding them, but don’t rely on that to save you.

Depending on what emotions were used to create them, egos will have different personalities. Most of them, however, are created of negativity and end up being hostile to most, including the people who made them.

However, ego items are extremely rare. They also are difficult to repair. Getting a growth-type ego item? It’s theoretically possible, but you’d better just stick to your things.]

'...an item with its own will? Something like that would be worth a mountain of gold. But... I have never heard of anything like that... well, I suppose it's not like anyone would be boasting about owning one. Even a fool would notice the potential.' a nod was his reaction to the thoughts. Then, a light sigh escaped his mouth.

He glanced at Aria. The sleeping woman did not react to the flash of light, her breathing still stable as her sleep was deep. Tracing the grand hipline hidden under the duvet, Travis felt slightly tempted to place a hand on the skin to feel it sinking into Aria's mighty asscheek.

However, that thought was quickly thrown out. He'd rather not disturb her slumber.

Travis looked to the ceiling, lying on his back. Long seconds ticked by, his mind uncluttered by any particular thoughts. Right now, he was merely taking in some air. Many things happened in the past few days, and he took a minute to empty his mind.

...

But eventually, his mind started drifting toward the issues at hand.

'A Truthseeker...' he reminded himself of what he heard from Chris. 'That seems to be his backer... backers, even. I'll have to be wary of them. A search for information would be good, but it'll have to be very careful.' he huffed slightly, his eyes closing momentarily. 'But it's a little worrying that I haven't received a quest related to that. Given how eager RALS was to give me a quest regarding Shard of Nihhelar which I know nothing about, I expected something to appear about Chris's backer... just what is it entailing in the future?' he exhaled shallowly before taking another breath in.

The System had already played different kinds of tricks on him. From quests that he could not find a way to complete with their optional conditions to skills that appeared by completing some 'secret requirements' and canceling quests, and finally, to what happened just now. Opening a 'system'... where has he heard of this before?

'...right when it activated back in the traveler's shop.' he realized. Back then, RALS spoke of two things activating, namely 'stat' and 'skill' systems. But... why...? 'I don't think I could think of an explanation even if I tried to. Still, as long as it's helpful, there's no harm in accepting it.' he eventually decided.

*Snore*

Travis's eyes shot to his side, seeing that Aria had shuffled in her sleep slightly. Her small mouth, half agape, let out noises with every inhale.

He smiled lightly at the sight. She really was cute.

...

[Name: Aria Brinn

Class: Mage

Level: 22

HP: 422/422

MP: 721/721

WP: 212/212]

[Strength: 24

Agility: 28

Endurance: 34

Intelligence: 141

Wisdom: 60

Sense: 41]

[Skills: ???]

[The youngest child of the Brinn family. Aria has shown an affinity for magic since a very young age. However, her extensive knowledge of theory does not constitute practice.

<Further analysis impossible without an appraisal skill>]

Travis closed the panel together with his eyes.

'I can't see her titles... does this mean it's something that will come up with an appraisal skill, or that she does not have any?' he pondered momentarily. 'But what's interesting is that I can see her Intelligence despite my Sense not equaling it. Why is that?'

Could it be because of his maximized affinity with her? The thought made Travis almost instinctively ask RALS about the word's meaning.

[Affinity is a measure of the target's favorability to you. It extends from (-100) to (100), both signifying extremities. Depending on the affinity, targets may be more or less willing to fulfill requests. Most beings start at 0, but this may change depending on certain factors.]

'About what I expected. But...' he opened the panel for a moment again. 'Doesn't explain that... maybe it's because she's treated as an ally by RALS. An appraisal skill is required... wait. RALS, 7 points into Sense.'

[Processing...]

[Notice: Sense has reached 100 points. All conditions have been fulfilled. Something special will happen.]

It was as he expected.

A surge of energy welled up in his heart. Immediately, he stood up.

Then, a new panel appeared.

[Skill 'Parlan's Eye' has been awarded.]

[Parlan's Eye lvl. 1

*Reveals some information about the target. A higher skill level will yield more information.

It's a low-level appraisal skill developed by Archmage Parlan, who later became a legend. Its shabby power is a tradeoff for being available to anyone to learn.

Cost: 10 MP]

...?

Travis's face contorted in immense surprise. He knew there were more appraisal skills than 'Blacksmith's Appraisal', but this... did not ring a single bell in his mind. It was just like <Undying Will>.

Deciding against pondering too much, he looked around for something to appraise. His golden eyes glimmered when he noticed an ashen-gray staff standing in the corner of the room.

[You are not holding the item. Skill 'Parlan's Eye' cannot activate.]

Stepping closer, he felt the wood's smooth texture.

[Skill 'Parlan's Eye' is activated.]

[The skill has too little proficiency. Only a bit of information is revealed.]

[Ashenwood staff

Rating: Epic

Durability: 83/104

Magic attack power: 28

Magic damage: +15%

Magic casting speed: +???%

*???

*???

*There is a certain chance to reduce the cost of the spell cast by ???%.

An old staff made with a production method devised by an unknown magician.

Weight: 780 g]

Travis's eyebrows knitted. Using this skill once was not satisfactory.

-10 minutes later-

As his MP dropped below 100, Travis sighed and sat on the bedside, deciding to finish his testing for now. The information he had gathered was enough for now, simple as it was.

One, the skill required him to hold the item he appraised. Reminding himself of the times when he swung the hammer in one of Silvana's smithies, Travis recalled a skill called <Blacksmith's Appraisal>. Its function was more or less the same as what <Parlan's Eye> did. The restriction of holding the item to be appraised was the same.

Two, the skill worked flawlessly on mundane items. Anything with a rating of 'Normal' or that did not possess statistics such as durability had their information revealed without an issue.

Three, the skill usage could be repeated, and there was a chance to improve the information. This was proved when he appraised Aria's staff a total of three times more. The third option's information was revealed to provide a 4% reduction in spell cost at a certain chance. The remaining ones, however, still remained a mystery.

Travis's eyes dimmed for a moment. Reaching for Thunder Blade by the bedside, he used the skill.

[Calidan Thunder Blade

Rating: Epic

Attack power: 21-29

Durability: 36/78

*Attack speed will increase by 6%.

*14% bonus lightning attribute damage.

*There is a low probability of activating the '2 Joint Attacks' skill when slashing.

*There is a low probability of activating the 'Vein Cutter' skill when stabbing.

*Skill 'Lightning Blade' is created.

A strong blade made of mithril, made in a typical shortsword fashion but with a slightly pointer tip. Trace amounts of steel grant it good resistance when blocking. A thunderstone was used to create its pommel. Its small crossguard allows for large freedom of movement.

It is a weapon made by legendary blacksmith Duncler, who gained enlightenment in his later years. It is a gift to his close friend and a re-iteration of a piece he created in the years when he was still lacking.

Weight: 740 g]

Tracing his memories, Travis failed to notice any difference between the blade now and when he received it back in Penalty Zone. Of course, the durability was reduced, but that was a given.

This was the fourth piece he managed to gather from using <Parlan's Eye>. He had confirmed it on several items he possessed, including Normal-rated runestones and even his clothes. Simply focusing on gathering information about the items yielded the same result as using the appraisal skill. Whether it was because he owned them for some time or at all was to be solved in the future.

There was, however, a severe limitation. Appraisal through concentration worked at a range. On top of that, it was free of charge. This meant that it was superior in almost every way to <Palran's Eye>. Its only drawbacks were that it could not appraise items he did not own and granted him less information on items with no ownership than the skill.

But Travis shook the ponders out of his mind. As his eyes darted to the sleeping woman, he inhaled deeply. Aria was still sleeping peacefully, wholly unaware of his actions. Coming closer, Travis gently touched the woman's exposed shoulder.

'<Palran's Eye>.'

[The target is a living being. The efficiency is reduced.]

[The target has a Normal-rated class. The efficiency is slightly increased.]

[Skill 'Palran's Eye' failed to activate.]

The Apostle sighed lightly. This was disappointing but within the bounds of what he expected. A person was bound to be more complex than an item.

A silent chuckle of defeat left his mouth.

Retreating his hand, he stood up. Fixing up all the items he misplaced in the last minutes, he soon stood next to the window.

The night was like an unbroken spell. The lights from the lamps shone like beacons of hope, lighting up the paths a few metal-clad Enforcers took. The stars above, uncountable as they always were, blinked repeatedly.

He placed a hand on the cold glass. A shiver went through his palm, but it was quelled immediately. Getting a hold of the handle nearby, he opened the window slowly. The chilly air of the city burst through the chik in an instant, flowing down his attire and giving him a sense of what it felt like outside. The breeze felt refreshing like a splash of spring water.

He bent forth a bit, placing his elbows on the frame. A hand went through his hair, shuffling it. A sigh escaped his mouth, misting the air.

[Why the long face?]

'...?' Travis glanced to his left, noticing the panel.

Another panel appeared, reacting to his lack of answer.

[Palran's Eye is not as useless as you may think. It's easy to learn and master. It may not have the usability of Character Observation, but its power will steadily grow. Just give it some time.]

'Are you sitting in my head, Rulebreaker?' he asked in his mind, furrowing his brows.

[Your expressions are enough.]

Travis felt a bitter feeling rise in his throat. Forcing himself not to scoff, her exhaled sharply. Watching his warm breath vanish into the night, he looked at the panel again. 'It's annoying, is all. All this work, and... I still feel powerless. I thought I've grown stronger, but the enemies I face are still beyond me. Had I not had as much luck as I did, I'd have already died three times in the past few days.'

[If you want my piece, growth in power is difficult to perceive from one's standpoint. Even when you learn new techniques, their form might not be satisfactory or fit your style. Yet, the fact that your strength grows is undeniable. Look at yourself from just a week ago and now. Who do you think would win?]

Travis closed his eyes. The image of Aria in Penalty Zone entered his mind. Her frightened expression made his heart tremble. 'Yet, I can't even keep my companions safe. Aria, Leaf, Violet, all three of them were in trouble because of me.' he huffed. The frustration of the past days was coming back to him. Anger stirred in his soul. 'And Crystal. I can't express how much I wanted to stay around and pry that barrier, but I knew I had to go on. All because I was too weak.'

[Being smart about which fights to pick is not 'being weak'. You knew that barrier was too strong for you, so you decided you needed to advance in power to break through.]

Travis didn't answer.

[Your companions were in trouble 'because of you'? You're blaming yourself for things you had no control over. And even if that were true, what did you do in all those situations? You had no obligation to save anyone. Yet, you went out of your way to do that and to help others. That is why you received that title, kid.]

...

[Yes, there are things you did wrong. You are gullible, rely too much on RALS, and lack depth of thought in general. But you are learning. That's the crucial part. Hitting a wall with your fist is a good experience to lead you to the invention of a hammer.]

The Apostle exhaled slowly. Inwardly, he felt that Rulebreaker was right.

[To be completely blunt, one reason in particular for all of this is your lack of a proper technique.]

'Technique?' his expression turned perplexed. 'What do you mean?'

[Your fighting style is unrefined. It's something that fits you and is comfortable, but its motions are random. You can win with braindead monsters like that, but against intelligent opponents, you are like a child. What you need is to learn a proper swordsmanship style.]

'...I don't have the time to sit around and train under a master.'

[It's alright. There is a way.]

'Which is...?'

[The 25th piece.]

'...you probably won't tell me more, will you?'

[Better that way for us both.]

Travis nodded. 'I understand.' his eyes gazed down to the street. The cold cobble reflected some light from a nearby lamp.

[Well, I'll be going now. Until next time.]

And then, the panels disappeared, never to be seen again.

Travis got a hand to his face.

-Hours later-

Aria's eyelids parted slowly, exposing the brilliant emeralds hidden underneath. Although she had woken up some time ago already, at this moment, she felt as though she was dreaming again. And the dream was not pleasant.

Palming her face, Aria rubbed the soft skin of her cheek. The sunlight entering through the window caused a pleasant sensation of warmth. Looking at Travis sitting opposite her, she felt multiple emotions surge within her heart. One of them, in particular, was sure to make its presence known.

She stood up.

"Gods, what were you thinking?!" her face contorted. "You just accepted that deal? It was clear nothing good would come from that!"

Travis's eyes looked a little down. "It just felt right to accept."

"You were given an offer to join a 'Competition' by a man you've never seen (who claimed to be a god, by the way! A GOD!), and you 'felt' it was right to accept?" Aria crossed her hands on her chest, huffing. "If someone told you to jump off a cliff and you felt it was right, would you? Would you?!" she asked, her piercing gaze attempting to bore a hole in his skull.

Travis didn't answer. His sheepish expression told the white-haired Mage all she needed to know.

"Gods, I fell in love with an idiot..." Aria murmured under her nose, turning to her side. "Well, do you have a plan?"

"I had one, up until I met you in Lodiz," Travis shrugged lightly, to which the woman frowned. "I'm just saying you took precedence," he added. Immediately, he saw Aria's expression soften a little. "I planned to go to dungeons south of Lodiz. But then... you know what happened," he sighed heavily, reminding himself of Isolde.

Aria's green eyes turned sideways. A bit of uncertainty swirled within.

"Well," she spoke, her tone noticeably softer. "I will say, this is... quite a lot. That will definitely take the better half of the day to set in..." she massaged her temples for a long moment before sighing. "Do you have any backup plans?"

"Not exactly. My plans so far condensed to 'find a place to level up in and proceed to do so'. Further planning was difficult because of the quests I had."

"...I see," Aria sighed. "This is about to be a long day, so we should prepare accordingly. Supplies, maps, how much of that do you have?"

Travis glanced at his backpack. "Not much. I opted to find ways into cities and resupply on the go. I didn't expect someone of supreme priest's rank to be an Apostle."

Aria's hand found its way to the bridge of her nose. Letting out a heavy exhale, she appeared to be pondering something deeply.

Travis, in the meantime, opened up his quests panel. Skimming through all the entries, he confirmed that no quests bar the daily ones had a definite time limit.

However, as he opened the one about the Shard of Nihhelar, he noticed something peculiar.

[...

Objective: Obtain all Shards of Nihhelar. (1/4)

...]

'I don't have it anymore... why didn't the counter decrease...? Does it only care about 'finding' the shards?' he pondered momentarily before Aria's voice brought him out of that state.

"First order of business is to prepare. I will have to go to Captain Nimmel."

"To her?" Travis's eyebrow shot up. "Why?"

Aria nodded, "I know a lot happened, but I'm still an officer of law. If I were to just disappear, my privileges would be gone. Bureaucracy in Forna is quite developed, I'm afraid. Besides, I do need a new MID made," she put on a slightly pouty expression. "Thankfully, I doubt there will be many problems. Captain Nimmel is in an uncomfortable position as of now, and we did happen to talk about something that will let me sweep my absence under the rug."

"I see. Will it take long?"

"Just a short while. Two hours, perhaps," the white-haired Mage shrugged. Seeing her man breathe lighter at the gesture, her jade eyes glistened. "Don't think you're off the hook. When I'm gone, you will handle the logistics."

"...logistics?"

"I have to write it down, but there are multiple things that we need. Food is just the tip of the mountain here. Potions, utility items... I'll cover the expenses, so don't shy from getting extras. Also, perhaps get yourself an armor, and have your weapons repaired."

"Alright, but space should be considered. My pack is already at its limit, and I do gain items for Daily Quests sometimes."

"My bag has spatial magic put on it," Aria shook her head, her mouth curving slightly. "I store my staff in it when I travel. The space should be sufficient for everything we need."

Their conversation slowly died out. Aria quickly scribbled down the list of items she could think of while Travis sorted his things. The room's atmosphere was filled with them moving about, preparing to set off to do their respective tasks.

This day was bound to be spent on preparation.

-Meanwhile, near Silvana-

"I'm honestly a little surprised," a woman said, fixing her black hair as she walked away from the city's walls. Her gray eyes were surveying the terrain around her, betraying that nothing was out of place in the plains near the road south of Silvana.

The movement of her body was full of natural finesse. The slim body with a small handful of breasts was covered in a black suit. Her legs appeared slim, accentuated by the somewhat tight pants covering them.

"...what about?" she heard another woman's voice ask as a shorter traveler was trekking by her.

Her similarly dark hair was made in a low ponytail, swaying gently with every step. Her blue and green eyes looked discerningly at the path, searching for irregularities. Her body, more pronounced than the first one's, was covered by a brown shirt, gray pants, and a long, dark cloak reaching her knees.

"When I heard you make that request yesterday, I wasn't sure what to think. I never took you for someone who cares about others."

Violet didn't answer. Her eyes rushed to the side, avoiding looking at Cecilia. The older woman felt her mouth curve a little.

"I don't mean it in a wrong way, Violet," Cecilia continued. "It's just who you are. Not caring about others or their opinions gave you the determination to become as strong as you are. It's a good trait."

"Thank you, Miss. But... I don't think of myself like that."

"Is that so?" the taller woman raised an eyebrow.

"You know that I can't... put myself with others," Violet continued her thought, raising her hand a little. Looking at her fingers, she felt a bit of an eerie stirring at her heart level. "It's not about being determined to grow stronger or not caring about others. I just... can't fit."

"Though, I am curious. How would you describe him?"

Violet remained silent for a long moment. "He is a determined person. Unduly persistent and resourceful. However, he lacks concentration. Moreover, he doesn't have much refinement in his techniques. Neither as a dagger nor a sword user would he be able to defeat me in a fair duel."

"Even in his current state?"

Violet inhaled, taking a second to ponder. "...perhaps, especially in his current state," she eventually gave an answer. "His talent appears to flourish through the direness he experiences."

"Hmm... yes, I agree with that," Storm Rogue nodded, a tiny smirk appearing on her thin lips. 'I taught her well.' she thought, putting a hand over a pocket of her pants that usually was empty. Two small items bulged against the material, informing her of their presence. "Once he joins hands with us, I'll be sure to help him grow stronger."

"...he only said he'll consider it. Right now, he needs time to take it in."

"When is the meeting?"

"Near the end of June," Violet responded with a monotone voice.

"I see. That should be plentiful."

The shorter, more voluptuous woman did not answer, looking to her side.

"You appear to have... doubts," Cecilia added. She gazed at Violet for a long moment, scanning the woman's strangely loose posture and unfocused gaze.

"I remain unshaken in my assessment," the heterochromatic woman answered bluntly, but her eyes didn't dare look at her teacher.

"It seems to be about something else. Could it be that you don't want to leave him?"

"...It's for the best that I don't... pester him with my presence," she answered, but... she could not help but feel her throat twisting. Though she didn't want to admit it openly, she was concerned about Travis. Maybe it wasn't about the man himself. Perhaps she was just worried about his class... she wasn't sure. There were many things to unfold, and never enough time for all of them.

"That doesn't sound like an honest answer."

"..."

"I won't pressure you to reply to me, Violet. But it would be wise to find out for yourself, at least."

"...I understand."

"Now, we can pack and leave as well."

"...?" Violet's eyes gazed toward Cecilia. Though she said naught a word, the question stirring within was evident.

"Surprising as it may be, Travis made my work much easier," the gray-eyed woman explained shortly. "There's no reason for either of us to stay around any longer. Time to leave for Odilar."

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