Chapter 41: Prodigy [1]
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The moment I woke up, I felt a slight pain, contrary to my expectations. The last thing I remembered was having every bone in my body broken by that person... I was sure I would either die or be paralyzed...
I was still alive, and the pain I felt meant I wasn't paralyzed.
"What happened?.." I slowly got up while rubbing my eyes, feeling quite sleepy despite just waking up. It didn't really affect me anyway...
I looked around and analyzed the unfamiliar place I found myself in. The room was made entirely of wood, with nothing inside except the bed I slept on. It was as if this place was hastily made just for me.
'The wood is very sturdy; it is likely reinforced with mana,' I thought as I tapped the wall behind me.
Alright then... what happened to me? Did I really escape? But how?!
When I lost consciousness, our situation was dire enough to sink the heart, and I was very sure the three puppets would lose... I tried to get up slowly. Although I wasn't seriously injured, my body was very weak now.
A newly awakened child could probably beat me up...
When I opened the nearby wooden door, the sunlight hit my face violently, blinding me for a moment.
"In the name of god..."
I should have been more careful; the floor wasn't even steady... I was on a small ship barely able to hold a group of people, but strong enough to withstand the waves.
Three people were sitting at the front, watching the waves, each with distinctly different expressions. Before approaching them, I wanted to check myself thoroughly.
{
Name: Cassian StarHold
Title: -
Class: Swordsman
Legacy Skill: Beast Form
Status: Cursed / Unable to Break Through
Level: C+
Stats:
Strength: C
Speed: C-
Endurance: B-
Intelligence: -
Senses: C
Wisdom: B+
Luck: F-
Charisma: C+
(Note: Charisma and Luck stats do not count towards level evaluation)
Skills:
Mind Improving: F
Martial Arts:
Commandment of Sloth (1/5): 72%
Sword Basics: 99%
}
"...."
'Unable to break through? Is this real?!' I couldn't believe what I was seeing and stood there like an idiot.
"Oh! You're awake!" Someone called out in a friendly tone from a distance, while the other two stared at me without clear expressions.
"Come, come! I'm Killian!" Killian stood up from his seat and approached me.
"You must be very confused right now, sit down and we'll explain to you," he placed his hand on my back as he spoke and slowly led me to one of the empty chairs.
Do I know this person? Why is he treating me so friendly?
Well… he can't be bad...
In that hell, someone took me from the hall and placed me with him on a boat instead of just leaving me, so I shouldn't question too much now... And more importantly... I focused on the status screen.
The status screen had never given incorrect information before; I even designed it to not display any suspicious or questionable information. If it says I can't break through to the next rank now, then it's true.
'Fu*ck puppet society, the accumulated negative effects of those resources along with my recent injury... something bad is bound to happen after all this...' I sighed as I sat on the chair.
Killian then returned to his old chair and handed me a water bottle from behind. I drank it all at once; no need to think about my appearance in front of people right now.
My situation is so bad that it doesn't allow me to care about those things. I looked at Killian for a second, then nodded towards the others without saying a word. He was the only friendly one to me, so I'll use him a little now.
"I am Jin, and this is Elara," Jin spoke very briefly.
His name made me think a bit, but I shook my head.
'It can't be, it can't be... it's just a coincidence.'
As if reading my thoughts, Jin clarified further.
"I'm the same person who was captured with you, I mean on that island." He pointed backward for a second as he spoke.
"Really?! How did you change your appearance like that?" I wasn't very focused due to just waking up, so I didn't notice it before, but I did now.
Jin looked like that puppet that was hanging on the wall in the hall, I thought he died after that attack... Thinking about it, he could have survived if he used his Legay skill, I knew that since I made it.
His purpose was to serve Darian, but it seems he used the skill on someone else now. Bad for Darian, good for me.
Since he's my rival in the inheritance now, I'll benefit as his support and overall strength decrease.
"I had to merge with a certain someone to accomplish the plan, only those here know this so don't tell anyone else." Jin put his finger to his lips when he finished, then continued:
"Also, look at the end of your status screen, under the skills section."
'Hmm? What does he mean?... wait, don't tell me!'
I opened the status screen and scrolled down as fast as I could.
If what I'm thinking is right... it is!
[
Name: Jin Marsh / Virile Valoris.
Race: Human.
Gender: Male
Age: 29 / 250.
Title: Pride Embodiment
Class: Assassin / Sorcerer
Status: Normal
Thoughts: Happy.
Level: S.
Stats:
Strength: S
Speed: SS-
Endurance: A
Intelligence: S
Senses: S-
Wisdom: SS+
Luck: G
Charisma: S
(Note: Charisma and Luck stats do not count towards level evaluation)
Skills:
Ghost Movement: S (Level increased due to Personal Assassin skill)
Mist Domain: S (Level increased due to Personal Assassin skill)
Vital Strike: A- (Level increased due to Personal Assassin skill)
Blood Surge: A+ (Level increased due to Personal Assassin skill)
Crafting: S+
manipulation: S+
Transformation: S+
Martial Arts:
MorningStar Sword (1/7): 5%.
User Effects (Cassian on Jinn):
Commands: The target cannot harm the user in any way or leave you without assistance in times of need.
Summon: The user can summon the target at any time they want, and the target can also teleport to the user if they wish.
Telepathy: The user and target can communicate through telepathy.
Immersion: once active. The user shares all the target's senses, feels their emotions and thoughts. It can be applied in reverse.
The user doesn't require any type of energy to use the above effects.
]
The moment I stopped reading, I heard a voice in my mind.
[I hope you keep this skill a secret, I don't want anyone to know about it.]
Through the status window I saw, I could tell he felt a bit embarrassed.
Did he use his skill on me to survive that hit? But if he merged with that hanging puppet, he would have survived naturally. There's something I don't know... but I don't really care now.
---
I designed everything around this skill myself. I can confidently say that Jin is one of the top 5 assets Darian was supposed to receive.
Perhaps the most effective against the Demon King... and now he is with me. Additionally, there are three new skills I didn't know about before. I started reading their information a while ago.
**Crafting:** Allows the user to create anything using a certain amount of mana, conditions:
1. A precise theoretical understanding of how the item works.
2. Sufficient mana for creation.
3. Adherence to level limits.
4. Some creations may require a fixed amount of a specific fuel.
5. The skill cannot create an item with infinite energy.
6. The skill cannot create a massless item.
(Note: The skill has been upgraded to its highest level due to the skill:
**manipulation:** This skill allows the user to control the actions of others through speech, but it comes with severe consequences:
1. The higher the target's level, the more mana is consumed.
2. If the power difference between the user and the target is significant, the user may suffer severe physical damage in addition to losing a considerable amount of mana.
(Note: The skill has been upgraded to its highest level due to the skill:
**Transformation:** Transforms the physical or biological form of anything in exchange for mana. The conditions for this skill are:
1. It can only be used on living beings under two circumstances: the target's consent or the target being significantly weaker than the user.
2. Transformation requires a theoretical understanding of the matter.
(Note: The skill has been upgraded to its highest level due to the skill: