I started running around Rodrick, but as soon as I caught enough speed, he did one thing that I definitely wasn't waiting for.
He stomped on the floor, and immediately the ground started shaking.
It seemed like the whole building was going to collapse over itself, and I stumbled forward, rolling more than falling.
And in the process, I hit my face onto the floor, and tasted blood from my nose.
"Fuck!"
"What, kid? You're already giving up?" Rodrick smiled at me, gesturing for me to come at him.
What was he thinking?
But when I charged at him, as fast as I could, he almost seemed to know each of my movements.
He stepped aside, ever so slightly, living only his foot in my way, but I managed to jump over it.
Just so he could grapple my in mid-air.
"Kid, you're not ready to raid a Nest, I'm sorry to inform you this, but you're not."
He squeezed me almost gently, and let me down.
I felt my insides revolving.
Why was I so frustrated?
"But..." I tried to say, but Rodrick interrupted me.
"Kurt, you're now a member of the Shadow Guild, and it means you're one of the best. But if you can't put to use even ten percent of the abilities you have... Then why the hell are you even here for?"
Those words hit me like a mad truck.
But they also made me remember last night, with Evellyn.
And they made me realize what was so ingrained in my mind, that I haven't noticed it in the slightest.
In my past life, I grew up with nothing.
So, when I came back, when I was presented with the system, I only thought of the powers that came with it.
Of course, besides that thing almost trying to kill me when I needed it the most.
But when I acquired my powers, I was so eager to use them raw, that I forgot the most basic shape of the mechanics of a wielder.
"It's not the powers of a wielder that makes them who they are... Not their strength or their magic... It's their whole..."
Rodrick was about to leave the room when he heard me mumbling about it.
"What?"
"Nothing. I..." I paused for a moment.
Did I really want to go against him once more?
No! Even worse.
Why was I even faltering?
"I want to go again!" And at my remark, Rodrick's lips curled upwards, ever so slightly, that the line his lips once were, hardly became a smile.
He went towards the center of the arena once again, and posed for combat.
"Just wait a second, please."
And I opened it.
My system window.
I opened it so many times before, but I never truly analyzed it. I never truly understood my stats and the perks of my skills.
So it was past the time for my to finally understand it completely.
[NAME: KURT BLAKE
LVL: 15
AGE: 16
CLASS: Rogue
STAMINA: 500/500
HP: 600/600
MP: 500/500]
[BASIC STATS
Undistributed stat points: 5
Strength: 130 (+10)
Dexterity: 200 (+20)
Agility: 200 (+20)
Perception: 300
Intelligence: 250
Vigor: 200]
[INVENTORY
***
CONSUMABLES
Full recovery x2
Hidden Nest Key A-rank – Blake's library
EQUIPMENT
Midnight Ballad
Midnight Sisters
Midnight's embrace]
[SKILLS
Steal LVL 10
Invisible hand LVL 10
Prying eyes LVL 10
Shadow walk LVL 10]
My basic stats showed me clearly how fast and strong I was, but I was only using that.
Even when I wielded the [MIDNIGHT SISTERS] or the [MIDNIGHT BALLAD], that was all I used, strength and speed.
I combined some of the other stats when fighting against Quintus, but there was more to it.
There had to be more to it.
[PRYING EYES]!
I was such a dumb fuck!
Immediately after I thought of the skill's name, Rodrick's window appeared in front of me.
And God... I was surprised by what I saw.
[NAME: Rodrick Steel
LVL: **
AGE: 32
CLASS: Brawler
STAMINA: 800/800
HP: 1000/1000
MP: 400/400]
[BASIC STATS
Strength: 350
Dexterity: 120
Agility: 100
Perception: 400
Intelligence: 120
Vigor: 600]
[SKILLS
IRON WALL
IRON BODY
THUNDER FIST
WARCRY
FRENZY]
"I thought you were all thieves around here..."
"What?"
Shit, I thought I had said that in my mind!
"Nothing, I was just thinking out loud, old man. So, are we gonna start it or what?"
"I wasn't the one hesitating, but just don't come at me running like you seem to always do." He added, with a sigh. "I know you have a few more tricks up your sleeve. Use your head, kiddo."
And then, it was his time to charge towards me.
But as he ran, incredibly fast, let me add, I was already one step ahead of him.
I activated [SHADOW WALK] and disappeared from his sight, moving towards his back, but strangely, Rodrick seemed to know where I was, and sent his elbow right at my face, and the next second, I was flying towards the wall, tasting my own blood.
"Silent and untraceable, I have to give you that." He said, clapping. "But too predictable, you already used it on Quintus while I was watching, remember?"
Shit!
I needed time to think, but if I made the wrong decision...
No.
It was training, and training meant that I had to practice quick thinking in real battles, so I had to do it.
I moved a bit further from Rodrick, and stood there, silent, thinking of what I could do to surprise him, to catch him with his guard down.
He wasn't expecting me to go all out on him in a fist fight, so I thought it should be a good idea.
[STEAL]
[THE PLAYER CAN CHOOSE EITHER TO COMPLETELY STEAL THE WIELDER'S ABILITY, OR TO JUST COPY IT]
'Copy, it wouldn't do any good in stealing the old man's power.' And I thought of the skills I wanted to copy.
I imagined the ability's names were pretty self-explanatory, so I wouldn't have any problems with just the three of them.
[COPYING...]
[IRON BODY SUCCESSFULLY COPIED, CONVERTED INTO – BODY FORTRESS]
[THUNDER FIST SUCCESSFULLY COPIED, CONVERTED INTO - SMASH]
[FRENZY SUCCESSFULLY COPIED, CONVERTED INTO - BERSERK]
Yes, that should do the trick.
I uncloaked [SHADOW WALK], and coughed, making Rodrick turn around to face me.
"So you finally got tired from hiding and thinking...?"
"Kinda..." I smirked, clacking my knuckles.
Rodrick raised his brow and raised his fists, rapidly gesturing for me to come at him.
I smirked.
"Alright, then."
I thought of the skills, and I felt the effects immediately, as [BODY FORTRESS] made my skin feel like solid steel, and I gathered as much mana around my fist as possible, feeling it crackle with electricity, as [SMASH] got put into use.
Rodrick's eyes went wide, as he quickly reinforced his own body with [IRON BODY], and I focused my strength on my legs, sprinting towards him with my clenched fist, ready to hit him.
I felt unstoppable.
Step by step, in a single second, I got to melee range and prepared to punch Rodrick as hard as I could.
Even though we were wearing gloves and protective gear, I simply knew that my blow was going to deal some significant damage to him.
Rodrick guarded himself, and I prepared the punch.
But before I could land an inch of my glove on him, I felt something strange coming from outside the arena.
I withdrew my fist, leaving Rodrick frowning, perplexed.
"What was that just now, kid?"
"It's an ability of mine, but I'll tell you about it later. What's happening outside?"
"Outside?" Rodrick tilted his head, looking at the glass wall.
He didn't seem to have very sharp senses, but he was the leader, so he had to had another way to compensate for it.
I looked outside too, and to my horror, Evellyn was sprawled on the floor, having a seizure.
"We finish it later, kid!" Rodrick stormed outside the arena, followed right by me.
He ran towards the opposite wall, where there was a tiny case with a first aid kit, and coming back with a syringe, he stuck it in her neck, applying all its content on her.
A few seconds later, she was fine again, but her eyes were wide, and her breathing was erratic.
"What happened Evellyn?" I looked at her, feeling like something was very wrong.
"I... Uh..."
She still seemed to be coming back to her senses, but when her eyes finally focused again, she spoke nonstop.
"You have to go to Octavius' house! He's going to use the crystal, and if you don't stop him, we're all... we're all..."
And she passed out.
Rodrick checked her pulse, and saw that she was fine. She just passed out from exhaustion, so he called a healer, and ordered them to take her to her quarters.
"Care to tell me what she was talking about?" Rodrick squinted his eyes at me.
"I don't know exactly, but father does conduct some sort of experiments in his lab, at the Dawn Guild's headquarters, and sometimes he brings work home... She's probably talking about something like that."
"Right... I know how reckless he can be sometimes, but I also know that Eve's visions are that of the future, so it hasn't happened yet."
"Yeah, but we don't know when Octavius is going to do whatever he's going to do, so I better hurry!" I looked firmly in his eyes.
"You?" Rodrick raised a brow.
"Yeah, why?"
"Alone?"
"Why?"
Rodrick looked at me and squeezed my shoulder.
"Kid, I know you're an awakened, and that you're almost a full-fledged wielder. But no matter how powerful you are, you can't go in there alone. I'm going with you."
I was ready to object, but he squeezed my shoulder tighter, and the way he looked in my eyes...
He looked like a worried father.
But I had to go there alone.
It was the best chance to test the new [HIDDEN NEST KEY] I acquired.
And I didn't know if I would have another chance to do it that easily.
I looked at Rodrick again.
"You won't let me go alone, will you?"
"You'd have to knock me out cold, for me to not follow you."
I raised my brow.
"What made you like me so much, old man? It's not just because I'm important to the guild, right?"
Rodrick slightly grimaced at me, and before I even noticed, I felt his huge hand slapping the back of my head.
"Don't get too cocky, kid!" He laughed wholeheartedly. "Only if your dreams! Now, do you want to go now, since you're in such a rush?"
Yeah, I wouldn't be able to test the key this time.
But I'd at least get a chance to go at my father without falling into a trap.
And he'll be pissed when he notices someone stole from him.
I smirked at the thought.
"Okay, let's go get ready, then."
***
An hour later, Rodrick and I were geared up to leave, and Evellyn was awake, so we got to her room to say bye.
We told her it wouldn't take long, that she should wait for us to have lunch together, and we got going.
Rodrick took me to the building's garage, and got into a very nice van, he turned on the ignition, and the car moved, silently, all the way towards Blake's mansion.
We parked a few blocks away from the entrance, and Rodrick asked me.
"You know the house, kid. What's the plan?"
"I was thinking of doing this alone, for starters, so I already had a solo plan in my head, but now, I guess we're gonna have to improvise. I could cloak myself with my [SHADOW WALK], but that would work only on me, so how about you creating a distraction at the main gate, so that no one thinks that you're actually helping someone get in?"
Rodrick thought about it for a while, smirked, and squeezed my shoulder.
"You get it your way even when you can't, right?" He laughed. "Alright, kid. But don't get yourself killed, if you can, get in and out without getting caught, and when you're done, blow something up so I know that I can stop smashing things."
I smiled.
"I thought you were all thieves in the Shadow Guild..."
"We all have our own way of stealing things, kid. Now let's go."
Our own way of stealing things, huh?
I'll keep that in mind, old man.
I started running in a particular direction, already activating [SHADOW WALK], and Rodrick ran towards the main gate, already activating his [IRON BODY].
It was going to be quite the show, but it was a pity that I wouldn't be able to see.
As I approached the far east wall, I felt a slight sense of déja vu, but it was going to be different this time.
Still cloaked by [SHADOW WALK], I jumped over the wall, falling smoothly on the grass.
I saw the dogs playing around, and they didn't seem to notice me, which was even better, so I began running towards Octavius' office window, lock-picking it way faster than the first time.
When I got in, I could still feel the strange sense of déja vu overflowing through the air.
It was here where I died in my previous life...
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