The Day Of The Ordinance [2]

"And what might this talk be...?" Calvin asked, placing both of his hands below his chin, seemingly intrigued at my sudden request. 

"Nothing significant. I just wanted some assistance about the class I should work on, and since Niktus has a perception skill, he should be of use."

What I said wasn't wrong, and it was a known fact that Niktus had a perception skill, which was disclosed only among the Higher-ups of the clan, a requirement individuals had to go through if he/she wished to be a part of the clan.

"Since you know that, you must also be aware of its limitations?"

"I am."

"Even then..?"

"Yes, I still want to."

Perception, a skill which comes with different perks, some based on the ranks of the individuals, but every perception skill has one thing in common, an additional skill, which can be unlocked at a specified rank depending on the significance of the additional skill.

Which, in the case of Niktus, well, he was quite a lucky bastard, possessing an additional skill which can detect the potential of an individual, not wholly, but to an extent.

But even then, it was a magnificent skill to have.

Thinking that, I decided to open up his skill panel to have a clear glimpse of his skill.

Scrolling down a bit, I fixed my eyes on his perception skill, overlooking the others 

__________________________

....+++

Perception [C]: Enhances the consciousness of the user by 33%

— Observation increases by 27%

— Awareness increases by 23℅

— Grants a boost of 12% in all senses.

— Consumes 3 Stamina, 2 Intelligence, and 1 Endurance every 45 seconds.

— Unusable under the influence of magnetic intervention.

— 9-hour cooldown after each activation.

Additional skill: Allows the user to see the potential of an individual, which is indicated in a shade of a specified colour which is set for all the stats, other than Charm and Luck. The darker the shade, the higher the potential.

— Can only be used once per individual.

— Can only perceive the potential of a sole stat.

— Consumes 3 Stamina, 2 Intelligence, and 1 Endurance every 30 seconds.

.....

__________________________

A few more things were specified, such as the colour specified for the stats, or other things related to the skill, but for now, I don't have the luxury nor the need to see through it.

What I needed to read was the note at the end of this skill. There were other notes, but this was the most important one since it was marked red, while the others were blue.

{Note: The skill can only be used on a specified stat— The chances of it containing the highest potential depends on the individual's luck.}

'So, it all comes down to the luck of an individual, if the stat chosen is not the one with a high potential, then there are no second chances.'

This was also the reason why Calvin confirmed if I wanted to go through this ordeal or not.

After all, it would be a shame if I didn't get something out of it.

While I was doing my inner monologue, Calvin was contemplating my request, if he should grant it or not.

But, why was he even contemplating? Knowing our relationship, shouldn't he outright deny my request?

He should, but...

"Alright, I will grant this request to my little brother."

'Certainly, he is a certified scum. He didn't repudiate my expectations.'

Why was I saying that?

Simply because, in the days I have been with Calvin, although it might not be much, was enough for me to get an idea of his personality, letting me know his possible actions. Denying my request would be the last thing he would do, since what he would want now, was to make use of it.

Yes, he would make the most of it.

His situation, where he might not only lose his standing in the clan, but also become a possible target of The Inquisition, what he needed was a scapegoat, someone he could put all his blame on.

And where else would he find someone like that other than Lykus—The Trash Of The Clan, someone who matched the identity of the rumours better than Calvin himself.

'A real piece of shit, just as his titles indicate.'

'Hmmmm? ....Pbfttt.... Hahahaha~'

I laughed.

'Hahahaha~'

What else could I do...

'Aren't I the biggest piece of shit? The biggest hypocrite?'

I laughed at the absurdity of the situation.

...

In the Privileged Practice Area, we were standing in the dome-shaped sphere, which was obviously the obstruction shield.

"Now that we are here, can we start, Master Lykus?"

Niktus asked, since, before, I had stopped him from assessing my potential as I wanted to be inside the obstruction shield, providing me with the luxury to have a 'Peaceful conversation' without any outside intervention.

He too didn't find it weird as this was something people found necessary to safeguard the confidentiality of their potential, at least that was how he must have perceived my action.

You never know, even a trash might have a high potential.

And that's what happened, after going through the process of activating his skill and seeing through my potential in Strength stat which I had specified, it took no more than a few minutes for me to find him surprised at seeing a bit darker shade of red, implying that I had a bit of a high potential in that stat.

"Ohhh, what do we have here? I didn't expect Master Lykus would be hiding so much potential, even though it's hard to deduce which rank it is from, but it can be C or even B-ranked, might as well be an A."

Niktus said, he was really taken aback by my potential, as even he didn't possess a B-rank himself, making it harder for him to swallow that fact.

And above all this, there was another thing.

Strength, was the only stat he checked, after all, he was clueless about my other stats.

I might just be a Diamond tagged as a block of coal.

"Ohh, really? But why are you not sure? Shouldn't you be aware of the rank it belongs to?"

I asked even though I knew the reason.

{Note: The higher the skill level, the clearer the shade will be, for it to identify and quantify someone's potential.}

A text which was shown in blue neon in the notes I had skimmed through.

"That is because...—"

Niktus started to explain the same thing, not knowing the reason behind my question was just to avoid every or any suspicion arising from me knowing such information. As this was not mentioned in the information chart handed to the higher-ups, in which only the skill name and its additional features with its main limitation were specified.

"Oh, I see," I said, after listening through his explanation.

"So, what class will Master Lykus try to achieve, knowing his Strength stat?"

Niktus asked, curiosity evident in his eyes about my path choice.

"I plan to follow the path of a…"

Edited By: WorthyAdversary

…

[A/N: Just wanted to clarify obstruction shield isn't made of magnetic intervention, it is a barrier made of particles. Didn't want you guys to think of it as a plot hole, even though I specified it back then in its description. And I have changed a single detail in chapter 24, because I made a plothoit's it's nothing major, just needed to change a word.]