"Yes. but for something so precious, you need to offer something as well. Otherwise, there's no point for us to do this and we'll just take the foot."
"What do you want?"
"For something like this, I mean the market could even grow for more of these. I think you should bet everything you have on you."
"What?!"
"Cunner, don't do it!"
His friends yelled but Cunner stared at Page, considering the deal. If he won, he could have a demon foot. Not even a month ago, demon parts were the rage, everyone he knew was hunting for them to sell and work with but he had only fought in groups. The portals were always shut down by the orders of the authorities.
"This is our chance to come back with a demon part, guys! I'm gonna do it!" Cunner thought, 'even if I lose, I won't give them everything. I'll lose the trident but nothing else.'
Page was smiling. He had met the trio before, when they weren't as strong as them and he knew exactly what Cunner was like, always lying just like his name says.
Skwil sat on the floor and drew a tiny circle with her finger which was followed by a pale trace of mana like a ghost. Nadaho stood next to her, staring intently at what she was doing. The circle was completed, the mana connected with each other and the magnetic walls floated up and put themselves together again.
"Wow, and you don't have any skill to move that?"
"I only have one, precise mana control."
"That was amazing! They just picked themselves up, and you didn't need the skill to burden your body! But you need to memorize how to do all of those crazy circles and draw them precisely each time, how hard is that?"
"Actually, you and I are similar."
Nadaho paused and laughed, "no we aren't, I could never do that."
"That's exactly what I thought hundreds of years ago. When I was a novice, we even had a similar amount of mana."
"What?! That's a joke, I have almost no mana, my body can't handle as much as yours."
"Oh, ho ho. You think I could? Child, my entire race is almost solely dependent on our physical capabilities, we can survive wonders, but have almost no capacity for mana. But, not to sound pretentious, but more intellectually inclined than my peers. I sought out mana and skills and I saw the wonders they could bring to my people that they weren't ready to accept.
But because of my specific limitations, I couldn't do much of anything. So I spent years searching for the basis for all skills and realized circles were the center of all complex magic. With enough memorization and hard work, you can do what I do. It was only years of practice that I am here now." Skwil stopped and looked at Zeeth, "Hey, it looks like they're doing something."
'Page, we need to chase after Yem. Why are we dealing with these idiots?'
'She can't run too far, She has a contract with this girl.' He held Yem up, 'and I know this idiot, he's not a real A ranker, his family is rich and bought him a lot of gadgets. I'm fairly certain he only agreed because he thinks he's only betting the trident and possibly their armor, but I will wrench every last Styr off him. He's not at all at the level of other A rankers.'
'Oh, fine. Let's take their things, he needs to be taken down a peg.'
"Kids. What's going on?" Skwil hopped on Page's head.
"A friendly competition." Said Page. "Shouldn't take more than a minute, we can go find the people and the eggs after."
"Hey, man I don't know if I should. I kinda wanna go check the place." The angel and demon popped up on his shoulders in a swirl of yellow and red magic. Still, no one else could see them, but they whispered anyway.
The demon said to him, "Hey, beat the kid down! You know it's fun, he deserves it and you get to take a bunch of their stuff!"
The angel retorted, "Hey, Just move on, Alright? It takes time and energy to deal with an issue you don't need to deal with. The kid will learn, go save your friends."
"Hey, why are you guys here? I thought you only came in difficult situations."
"Yeah, we thought so too. Of course, we are just collections of your subconscious so we only know as much as you."
Zeeth opened his skill and it read, [Angel and Devil: the user's initial indecision has caused the skill to change. The skill activates upon much less serious decisions. The rewards for each choice will be given after choosing.
Instead of an adrenaline rush, the angel simply gives more permanent Holy Energy and the Demon doesn't give a boost of energy, simply more demonic body.]
"What did it mean by the rewards given after choosing? Why did this happen?"
"It seems to be because of your indecision," The demon said.
"Yeah, thanks. God's number."
The scenery around him changed and he stood in a white room with a young child's silhouette in front of him. The angel and demon both cane with him and he asked God, "Hey, why did my skill change? And what does it mean?"
"Oh-ho-ho. You've acquired the Angel Devil Skill. One of the five great skills of being a leader, understanding and making the right decisions.
AND you have the Motivation Skill as well, good job on getting two! Of course, don't get too excited, they are still far too low leveled to do much, but you have a good start.
So, you wanted to know about the Angel and Devils change?" God stared into his eyes and he felt like his mind was opening like a book, showing everything he knew. God read a little and said, "Ah, yes. You've changed the skill. The first choice that you make with the skill is the most important like the Motivation Skill was warned by motivating a hundred others to do something.
But the first thing you did with a skill that was meant to make you choose a side was to choose both sides, meaning you molded it in a drastic way. kinda like how a first impression could be really impactful.
As for the changes. You've lost something quite crucial. You see, in being a great leader, you need to show that you are strong and dependable, which is why you were given those boosts. During the split-second decisions of a life or death battle, this skill can save your life and reward you after making the call by either giving you the holiness of angels, my apprentices, or the body of devils."
"Giving me the body of a devil? Where does it-"
"Yeah, that's what it means by Demonic energy. Gaining that energy also means turning your body more demonic, but it only changes a few cells at a time. But the angelic thing is similar, holy energy will grant a few of your cells properties of angels. The gifts are the precious parts of the skill.
But I can tell you want that energy boost back."
"Well, I just don't know how much good the gifts will do for me, how much energy do they give?"
"It really depends on how crucial the situation is and how quickly you decide. The longer it takes and the less important, the weaker your angel and demon are and the less you get. But typically, it's a very minuscule amount, about a few cells. If you really want, I can change it back."
"I assume for a price?"
"Yes. A battle with another one of my Otherworlders."
"No, I don't want to reverse it. You said the gifts were more important, I want to keep this skill while gaining back the energy boosts."
"Oh? That is quite the request. I will need to get a better fight for such a change."
"I'll do it."
"Alright. Keep it under five minutes, I want you both to leave quickly." God snapped his fingers and summoned a pale woman with long arms and squinted eyes.
"Is this the guy?" she hissed, "really?"
"Yes. don't underestimate each other. You need to make a fun fight so start off strong." God flew back and yelled, "start!"
She bent her torso around, cracking it like bones, and elongated it, twisting herself in a way he had never seen before. "This could've been down in a second if I had my scythe," she hissed.
"Yeah, I'm sure you could've."
"Don't underestimate each other!"
Four minutes later, Zeeth held her elongated head in his hands as a few of the circles he drew dimmed away, and the boosts he gave himself faded. She poured blood down her cheek as he wiped some from his face. Her long fingers, still holding onto his calf, fell aside as God clapped, congratulating them. "Nice job! And by the way, lady, if I had allowed weapons, this wouldn't've been a fight. It would've been a one-sided massacre. Not in your favor."
She winced and blinked away in a flash of light. "There, you got your skill. Tata!"
God snapped and Zeeth faded away as well. Back in real time, Zeeth looked at Cunner and said to the two, "I think I'm going to go the middle route again. Just quickly beat him down and go."
"That is more my route." the demon danced on his shoulder.
"What if he has connections that could be useful?"
"Connections that a person from the future wouldn't have?"
Page yelled, "and go!"
The demon exploded in a puff of magic that absorbed into Zeeth, granting him a glaring red aura all around him. Cunner stepped back from the fear and surprise he felt from the sudden burst of energy. Sweat dripped from his cheek and his throat felt dry. Like a deer in headlights, he yelled at his muscles to move yet they froze, not doing as he wanted in front of the overwhelming pressure of the demon's aura.
Zeeth ran in and tried to grab Cunners face, who was able to break from the spell and swing back just in the nick of time. But he couldn't see Zeeths foot that had stepped behind his and tripped him, latching onto his neck to hold him down. He felt the urge to squeeze it but he forced the demonic urges away and let Cunner go, coughing and held up by his friends.
"Is that good enough? Now let's go save the people."
"Oh, don't worry about that. We've already found everyone, including the previous C and B rankers in hiding." Skwil said, "They will be going back to the Hunters Association soon and reporting what they know."
"Now, give us everything you have." Page had money in his eyes, a trait he earned from his father.
Cunner massaged his neck and pointed to the trident, "We only have the trident. Or do you want our clothes too?"
"Cunner. You just saw what we could do. Do you really want to lie to us?"
"What? I'm not lying, we thought the trident was enough for this mission. We didn't think demons were so strong."
Page smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. His hands clenched down like a vise. "Yes. you are lying. And if I find the rest, I will send you back in your socks. And just your socks."
Gunner whispered, "dude. Just let it go."
Cunner rushed away back to the hole where everything was hidden.
Leia ran up to them, still glowing, and yelled, "Zeeth! Page! Oh, thank goodness you're here! Thank you so much for saving us!"
"Oh, your welcome."
"Why are you glowing?"
"Alba, my mother, she transferred me Clairvoyance."
"What? Just now?" Page exclaimed.
"Yes. isn't it great?"
"No, it's not!" Page exclaimed, "Gunner, ANYONE WHO CAN HEAR ME! You are safe, we've taken out the killers, everyone please come out!" He turned to Leia and said, "One of the requirements for the skill transfer is death. She is growing weaker by the second, why are you out here?"
"What? She didn't say that, she just wants me to bring her orb."
"You stand by her, we'll get the orb!! Go!"
"The orb's in the main building!"
Leia rushed back to the underground room while Page and Zeeth ran to the main building. They surrounded Alba, who was had been growing weaker as she laid on the floor. She hoarsely whispered, "Leia, give me your hand. Lay it on the orb. The time between the skill transfer and the previous holder's death is when the skill is at its strongest. Right now, you will be able to activate Eye Over the World. you can see everything in the world and I will help you sort through it. The more hands that are on the orb, the more helpful. Everyone, please hold onto it for as long as you can, let go if it takes too much of a toll.
Everyone put their hands on the orb, even Zeeth hundred slimes put a portion of themselves onto it. Alba opened her old, wise eyes. They glowed a swirling purple as the orb sucked them all into it. At first, they could only see darkness. Then light, and then shimmering colors that shrunk and showed the orb. It then widened even further and showed the entire town, all the people, and the tiny animals around it.
Their heads began lightly hurting.
Then they saw Yem who was still flying away and a car with a woman inside it looking ahead. She pulled out a long staff that grew blue veins when it was directed at Yem a ball of flying blood in the sky, Yem. a blue plasma ray blasted out, popping the bubble and trapping Yem. even further out, they saw the Cult in a dark cave, offering blood, flesh, and bones to an altar with tanks and tanks of magical items.
It kept zooming out until they could see the entire world floating in space, rotating faster and showing the people, the stars, the planet, and the dazzling wonders of life and the horrifying dangers too.
Everyone began having major headaches. All but Zeeth, who had Black sorting out the information as it came and his slimes who were too simple-minded understand everything and simply observed instead of trying to understand. One by one, tribes members who had been nearby let go, then Nadaho, Eddie and Elton, Skwil and everyone else until it was just Zeeth, his slimes that were hidden under his hands, Page who had a lifetime to learn to process information, Leia and Alba. in the orb, Alba said to them, "when the orb is let go by all, the original holder of the skill will pass. Meaning, when everyone here can hold on anymore, I will die."