Grimoire

"Kill the Hannibals? Dude, that is like so far from your current level. Craigs' Soul was Soldier level, don't get cocky just because you beat him. Also, that was pure fluke, it wasn't that you were more skilled than him." Said, Helena. Although she wasn't expecting Alfred to beat a Host right from the start without training, she was happy with the results. It seems that growing up in the streets made him tougher and more skilled in combat. "But I have to praise you for defeating a Host on your own. You may have gone a bit too far, but a win is a win. Can you still use the Shadow Blast?"

Alfred tried to create another black mist in his hand, but it was no use. It seems his body 'forgot' how to use it.

"I learned and used it with the adrenaline in that battle. I don't think I actually learned it."

"Well, it's not a big deal. You will learn it eventually. But I think because you came into contact with a shadow skill, Dark style should be unlocked for you."

"What is a 'style'? My head is already messed with all this stuff. Soul is a fighting spirit that gives you powers, Type is what kind of skills the Soul has, skill is the powers that a Soul use and Host is someone who has a Soul. Where did this 'style' thing come from?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about that. As you know, there are four main Soul types, Nature, Fire, Dark, and Light. If your Soul is a sub-type, like Shadow, for example, you can't use the Dark Soul skills anymore, instead, you use the Dark style. It's basically the same thing on paper, but styles are weaker compared to Soul skills. Because our power is something like Extend, you should be able to use all six styles."

"Okay, at this point, I'm not even going to ask about the other two styles, let's just get over with it. I want to test my new powers in action, so let's go to the tavern! Hey, maybe I will even find some stuff about Hannibal, who knows?"

Alfred started walking to the Tavern. It has been a while since the rain stopped. Even though he killed his friend in cold blood a few minutes ago, he seemed okay. He was depressed, but not devastated.

The tavern wasn't that different from the one in Zeglis, drunkards, some spies, and criminals, the smell of beer, it was all the same. There weren't any troublemakers, so there wasn't any point in making trouble. He just sat there and ordered a beer, and started talking to Helena:

"Hey Helena, isn't there a way for me to know what skills and other stuff I know? This will be hard to keep track of in the long term."

"Good question. Honestly, Extend users can touch an empty book and make it their spellbook kind of, but I'm not sure it will work or not, because I am not the 'Extend'."

"Let's just check," said Alfred and asked the innkeeper if there was an empty book. The innkeeper brought a dusty old book, it had no name on it. Just a leather cover. Alfred thanked the innkeeper and dropped some silver coins on the table.

"So, what do we do now?"

"First, you leave this place and go somewhere they won't find see you, like the toilet, because I am sure you don't want to do fancy stuff and attract all the eyes in here."

'Fair enough' Thought Alfred to himself. He took the book and left for the toilet. Although he drew some attention for entering the toilet with a book, he didn't care much. Alfred entered an empty cabin and examined the book closely; it seems that the innkeeper brought this from the attic or someplace like this because it had some spider webs on it. He cleaned the web a little bit, and asked Helena:

"So, what now? Do I just say abra-kadabra and some shit?"

"No, you don't, funny boy. Put one of your hands on the cover of the book, and chant the words 'I grant you the ability to be my Grimoire.' and then some magic stuff should happen."

"Wow, who wrote that, a twelve-year-old boy? Anyway," said Alfred, and chanted the words:

"I grant you the ability to be my Grimoire." A magic seal appeared on the cover of the book, some sparkles appeared and then they disappeared. When Alfred opened the book, there were words in it:

'Dark style, Soldier tier:

Dark Cloak

Void style, General Tier:

Eclipse Spear

Eclipse Spear, Short Version

Heaven Shattering Umbral Flash'

"Wow, I expected a bit more flashy stuff, but anyways. When did I get the Dark style, and what is Heaven Shattering Umbral Flash and Dark Cloak? Also, why is Void style at General tier?"

"Didn't expect that to work. I think powers are not based on Extend itself, they are most likely based on their attributes. Anyway, you know the Void style because of me, but you learned the Dark style from Craig's Shadow Blast. That's why they have different tiers. Normally. when I was still a human, my Void style was King tier. But Narren sealed my techniques and power. Oh, and you can read about skills on the last page of the book."

Alfred opened the last page, and there was a short explanation of all the skills he had:

'Dark Cloak:

A skill used by thieves and spies mainly. The user can hide themselves and any objects they touch if the area is dark enough.

Eclipse Spear:

T̴̛̠͖͖̭̱̥͙͋͑̓̈́ĥ̴̨͕̳̈è̸̲̼̻͓̙͔̄̃̕͘͝ ̴͕̏͒ù̷̠̱͈̳͍̗͒l̸͔̹̠̈͒̑̿t̸͉̭̱̻̊̆͗̍i̶̛̹͚͓̘̋͘m̸̤͔͕͍̝̲͒̅̏a̷̛͍̳͋̽̕͝ţ̷͂̄̂͋ę̴̛̩̼̟͖̍͑̀͊̄͆ ̸̺̍͂̒̃̏͝t̶̢͓͎͉̩́͊ḙ̴̬͖̓̒̓̈́̾͝ͅc̴̯͈̻͠h̴̭͗̿n̵̢̛̥̱̞̾̏͠͝ͅi̴̢̝̮͓̿̐̌̍̚ͅq̴̩͌u̷̠̤̠̭̺̻̅̍̿͑̀͝e̷̙̜̼̦͓̣̰͊̆̀ ̵̗̖̘̳̋́̊̀̅̽o̶̢͈͉͇̠̽͆͐̀̈́̈f̴̰͍̣̀̍̽̉ ̶̗̜̋͆ṱ̸́̌̋̌͜͝ȟ̴̡̻͉̓̎͠ḙ̸̢̛̳̽̊̈͘͝ ̷̞̝͠V̶̛̮̮͉̓̂̒̑͠ö̶̡̼̖̪͙̯̝́͐̉͂͑́ị̸̰̇͑̐̏̆̕͠ͅͅd̸̤̦͔̹͎̅́̕ ̵̨̛̝́̀̂̓̀͛S̵̗̹̻̼̹͌̋t̴̟͈̜̆̑y̴͎̟̲͇̾͒ḽ̴̆e̸͖̖̹̋̏̽̀ͅ.̶̢̙͊̓ ̷̨̡̥̫̩̗̂̈́͊́̀Ä̶͎̦́͒́̏͐ṇ̵̢̩̜̑͋̎n̶͎͕͐́̊̈̚ì̵̡̛̬͖̺̆̓̂̈́͠h̷͙̯̹̘̼̄̄i̸̢̭͌̋ḷ̴͖̐͊͐͒ả̶̹͖͇̗̉̊̀̏̆͆t̷̡̫̤̬͕̟̖͋͆̊e̶͉̟̬̠̎̉ś̷̞̣͍̞͚ͅ ̸̛̩̥͒̿͛̍̒è̸̘̓͋̐̈́̈́͜͝v̵̢̰̮̜̊̈́̍̽̓̓̚e̵̼̗̖͒̇r̵̡̛͔͈̺̤̄ͅỵ̵̦͚͖̲̓͠t̶̢͖̫̻͇̄h̶̪̯͠ḯ̵̢͎͔́͘͝n̶̨̰͇̯̯̈́͑g̶͖̓̔ ̵̳̘̩̘̉̔̀̍̏͒̌ͅi̸̺̜͆̾͝t̸̩̼͊́̽ ̴͓̹͍̾͊ț̶̨̡̥͕̐o̵̧̨̳̖̠͛͋̈́̔̅̊̆ȗ̶̫͓̻̐͠c̸̠͚͓̺̓̈́͋̈͊͜h̴̨̨̠̗̱̜̐͗̅̄̚͝e̴̲͚̞̿s̴͇̟̳̹͙̗͊͝͠.̷̩̺̓͐̏͋͛̀͜

Eclipse Spear Short Version:

S̴̡̢̧̤̱̺̟̒̔́̈̉̚͘h̴̯̖͈͎̱̯̾̇̅̈̄̕͜ö̸̩̣̠́̒̃r̴͖̩̣̺̣͖͆͆̎̋ͅt̶͇̏͂ ̴̛̞͖̗͖̝͕̅͌̌̔̈́v̸̡͔̞̯̰̊̎ẽ̸̙̑̈́̈́̋͘ͅr̵̬̞͐̆̔̒s̸̡̡̓́͒͝ĩ̸̡̧̡̖̠͒̓̍̕o̸̘̐̌͠ņ̸̝̹̺͎̞͚̾̈́̐͗̐̕ ̵̨̡̘̱͗̔̃͌͑̽͆o̸͙͈͚͙͎̞̩̅̈́̈́̂f̸̙̊̌̇́̚ ̷̬͚̥̭̯̗̝̒̏̆̿͘Ȩ̷̛̺͖̹͎͆̊c̸̩̫̲͕̞͚̓̌̅̈̓͆́͜l̷͕̱͓͙̣͓̞͂͛̐͗̽̏͛i̸̻̳̹̦̽̏̎̐̓̿͒p̶̺̝͈̝̮̗͑͊̽s̶̛͇͚̳̥̹͐͌̿͗e̷͈͔͛̎̋̊̉ ̷̧̗͗̋̓͒͛S̴̹̲̱͍͒ṗ̵̳̖̱̳͓̩͉̎͠ě̸̲̥̙͔̫͙̱͊͛̔̕a̴̻̞̥͍͖̞̋̏̔̄̚r̸̦̲̾̅,̸͚̳̟̒ͅ ̵̙̳̦̭́͗̈́͑͑͜͝ū̸̹̥̼̃̈́̔͒̚ş̷̺̜̱̯̄̂͋̎̄̐͝ę̵̠̏̈͝d̶͕͚̼̼͔̖̂̊͆̊̔͑͝ ̷̡̤͈̜͔̥͌͊̽͆̽̌̈́͜o̵̱͖͛̈ñ̶͕̘̺̤́̀ ̶̛̜̭̇͊̄͛͋f̴̮̤͑̊͌į̶̬͉̩̝̲̙̄͘n̶̡̠̜̠̽̅͂̈̓̚͝ģ̵̛̟͌͂̑̓̾̊ȇ̵͙͙̣͚͐̓͆͑ͅr̷̲̯̙̆̈ş̷̟̗͇͛̇̃̌̕ ̴̮̽̽̀ȏ̸̘̭͉̪̌̓́͒͋̓r̶̢̧̳̖̪̞͊̂͂ ̶̡̢̩̦̲̍́f̷̧̙̪̬̀̅̽̓̚i̴̬̼̜͒̆̏́̉̎n̶̦̫̆͆̑͝g̸͈͓̫͚͉̩̩͛͐̓̚͠͝ȅ̵̢̒͘r̶̨̲͔͔̮̝̿̎n̴̢͍̹͔̥͂a̷̛͎̻͍̘̼̝͔͂̀ȉ̶͐͛̓͘̕͘ͅl̵͖̮̓̅̂̈͑͘̕ṡ̸̺̬̣̖̭̙̺.̴̞̅͒̔

Heaven Shattering Umbral Flash:

H̶͇̫̞͙͒͛͌̃͌͗e̷͇̐̿̐͊͝a̸͔͔̦͛̌̀̾̒̐̕v̶͇̬̜̹̰͆͋ę̸̮͍̰̮̱̓̃̔ͅn̸̜̅͋͝ ̸̺̞̣̻̞̫͉̓S̴̖͕͓͋ḩ̶̨̯͓̲̥͚͊͋ă̵̢̲̙̥̯̞̦̓͊̆̃̚t̴̬̻̖͛̊͂̐̃̏ţ̶͔̰̹̼̇͆͐͑͊̽͘e̶̢̪̬̮̥̭͊̀͐r̴̬̠͖̮̱̽͂́́̒͘i̴̧̞̭͈̝̒͌̏̒͗͗ñ̵͕̈̊̓̇̕͝ģ̴̘̜͕̭̩̆̉͐͘͠͠ ̸͚̌̿̽̀͊͝͠Ű̴̫̑͋͋̋m̸̲̲̈̐͌̒͝b̶̤̬̂͑̐̈͘r̵̹̥̓ả̶͓̹͕̪̰͂̈̿̾͗̚l̵̘̝͉͕͔̓̋̐̈́͋̑͠ ̴̡̺̠͚͉̞̹̓͆Ḟ̷͎͎͚̟̝̠l̸̘̲̪̞̇̋͂͆ả̸̡̨̪̝̣̃̒́͠s̷̡̟͒̽̄͌ḧ̸͉́̓̂́͑͠ ̶̧͎͍̤̏̽͗͘d̴̪̀̉͑̑̎̾̎è̸̠̫͇̈́̂ͅs̴͙̎̀̅͝ţ̴̝̻͌̀̎̽̋͘ṛ̵̛͈̭͇̿̃̊̄̊̇ͅo̷͉̝͐́̈́͘ẏ̶̪̼͖͖͕̳̂s̶̫̟͖̞̖̟̓̃̉̀͘͘ ̶͙͈̭̟͔̞̮̍͝ȅ̷͔͍͖̻͋͐v̵̪͆͑͂͗͐ͅẹ̴̛̦̊̿̂ŕ̸͚̑̾̆͑̕ÿ̵̢͉̟͖́t̷̨̛͛h̵̛̜͎͎̽́i̴̝͍͙̼͋̀̊̌̽n̸̺̗̩͚̘͂̿̃̈͑̚g̴͈̜̪̟̺̦͈̈́̃̅̇̄̽ ̴̧͐̑̅̍̈́ḯ̶̞͍͎n̵̪̘̩͎̪̠̝̉̏͋͐͒ ̴͕̟̯̓̂̾͘i̵̜̙̽̆̈ṱ̵̛͗͑̚͝͝ṡ̸̡̢̠̟̻̟̄͆̉̅͜͝ ̴̨̞̇̑̑̚͜ȑ̷͎̫̗̹̤̝̩̋̕̕͝à̷̡̪̣͈̜͌n̸̝̠̟͍̹͕̠̍̓̐̔ġ̸̢͕̺͕̺͙ẹ̸̔̂̑,̶̦̠̇̀̉̄͒̅ ̵̘̝̲͎̓̃͠e̵̡̍̉̌͛͆̃͝v̸̨͙̥͙͚͉̱̑̀̓̐̏ḙ̶̮̺͂̄͐ͅn̶͍͚͈̩̔͌͋ ̴̡̻̻̹̪̫̐̐s̴̡̘̝̻͙̏̽̈́̈̅̓͝p̴̨̙͇̞̦̼̒̓̎ͅǎ̴̧̰͋͌͂̔͝c̷͍̥̜̪̣̄̒̊̅ë̸̜̺̼͙̻̀̀͂̊̃̊ ̵͍̜̻̈̓̾̾à̷͈̯̰͈̯̩͚̒̎n̶͊̉ͅḍ̷͎͈̿͊̏̌͝ ̶͈̀̎̐t̴͔̋̒̿̚i̴͉̲͇͌̇̆m̸̨̗͙̆̾́͆́̎ḕ̶͖̿̑̚.̸͈̈́'

"Ugh, my eyes, I can't read them! Why are they distorted anyways?"

"I think the Holy Council made all things about Void style unreadable. Anyway, I had a duel with Narren, so I know most of the Void style. I am banning you from using Heaven Shattering Umbral Flash. It's the strongest move that has been recorded. But if you use it, you die. Don't even try to use it to take somebody down with you, it takes a bit of time before it happens, and it's not that hard to defend I would say."

Acquiring the Grimoire would help him a lot in the long run, but in the end, the important part was surviving long enough to copy other skills, know how to combo them together, and know when to use which skill. His repertoire was almost endless, but endless doesn't always mean best. He would have many options in various situations, but because of that, he would have to stop and think for a second about which skill to use. He had to train for that.

He left the bathroom, returned to his table, and emptied his mind. Just when his adventure started, he didn't want to spend time with problems that are not even present yet.

"It's a good day huh, Mr. Alfred?" a woman's voice was heard. Normally he would draw his knife and take a battle position, but they were in a tavern, and when someone calls you in a tavern, they most likely have a job for you. "Here, let me buy you another beer."

"Thanks, Mrs...?" Asked Alfred, while looking at the woman. She was in her mid-twenties and had the look of a noble, but she wasn't as prestigious as the Norks.

"I would like to keep my name secret, as I am in danger of being targeted. You may refer to me as Dealer. I would like to offer a job to you."

"Sure, I am all ears then. Let's hear about the job first, we can talk about the payment later."

"Of course. Normally I was going to give this job to Craig, Leader of Thieves Guild, but I couldn't find him. To my surprise, some people told me that the Commander-in-chief of Thieves Guild is also here, so I approached you." The Dealer picked some notes from her bag and put them on the table.

"The Thieves Guild of this town, Banat is more of a bunch of hooligans stealing valuable items from people. They stole our family heirloom, a magical gem. I want you to retrieve it and bring it back to me. These notes have all the information about them that I know. I think it was Han Jarla who stole the gem, he is a white-haired boy around my age. He actually looks kind of like you, now that I take a closer look."

Alfred looked at the notes, there was a photo of Jarla on there. When he was looking through the notes, Helena talked:

"I think I know that guy Jarla. Ask the lady if this Jarla is the same Jarla that stole the Heirloom of the Norks."

"Hey Dealer, is this the same Jarla that stole the Heirloom of the Norks? He kinda looks like it."

The Dealer nods her head in a positive manner.

"Bingo Alfred," said Helena with an excited voice. "I am quite sure that this Jarla dude is working with Hannibal."