Ta

  Ta darted dowreet, hugging the walls to dodge the broad patches of moonlight. Her soft leather boots barely made a sound as her feet fell lightly on the rough stone pavement.

  She may have grown up in the slums of Myrin’s Keep, but that didn’t mean she could be careless. On the trary, it merely made her far more cautious of the dehat prowled the streets after dark.

  But while her eyes and ears were stantly searg the darkest ers and the most likely ambush spots, it was with a breathless lighthat filled her chest. A thrill that had begun when she had watched Donavan Asterford falling into that dark hole and heard the cascade of notifications that had echoed in her mind, clear despite the r crash of rod stone.

  Dagger Rogue was a fantastiatural path css, but her heart was set on something a little… stronger.

  She dodged out from her hiding spot and dashed across the rest of the street, through an alleyway, and then emerged onto the main thhfare.

  “Hey,” she called out, keeping her voice low as she announced herself to the two armored figures standing guard at the Town Hall. “Css didate returning for the shrine.”

  “It’s te to be out,” one of the guards said, calling attention to the obvious danger. But then he shifted his feet. “Successful, I hope?”

  “Yup,” Ta said, pstering a grin on her face that did not eveo be faked.

  “gratutions,” the uard said, ining his head. “Go on in, they’re still in there waiting for the stragglers.”

  “Thanks,” she said, walking up between them and opening the doors.

  Heads snapped around as she stepped into the Town Hall, and eyes instantly glued themselves to her. Despite her best iions of showing fidence, she froze on the spot.

  “Oh, Ta!” the mayor, William Turner, said, rising to his feet. He let out a deep sigh and then beed. “e, e, we’re so gd to see you. I was beginning to worry – is the rest of yroup…” He trailed off, his eyes flig briefly to the still-empty doorway behind her.

  This was a question she repared for. Her body straightened up and she stepped forward as her habits kicked in.

  “We split up whe back to town,” she said, as smoothly as she could mahey didn’t want to risk the streets at night.” It was an obvious lie, but ohey wouldn’t figure out until ter. And by then, it shouldn’t matter. Hopefully.

  She nodded politely to the others sitting at the table, the idealistic Guildmaster of the Adventurers Guild, and the suspicious eyes of ander Brand’s aide. But the mayor ushered her up to the table and the stone shrine promily dispyed in the ter.

  Now let’s see if Kieran Mori lives up to his reputation.

  She remembered just how terrified she had been when she had first met him. The sense of his presence had overwhelmed her, leavirembling and shaking. It was a oion from the uoward certain high-level csses, but she had never experie quite so intensely before.

  But when she had pitched her proposal to him, he had agreed to take her under his wing, setting up some easy marks for her. He cimed he knew how to for Assassin css and was fident enough to stake his offer on her getting one. If this shrine offered her the css wheouched it, she would have a mentor and a job – and access to all the accelerated experiehat came with it. And if she didn’t… well, she could make do with Dagger Rogue. It would just take loo reach her goals.

  “Ok, Ta, it’s ready for you,” the mayor said, gesturing toward the stoifact, invitio use it.

  “Thanks,” she said, putting her hand on the cool stone surface. She eled just a little mana into it as she had been instructed, and the shri up with glowing purple runes.

  [Shrine of the Sed Path] Reserved mana reduced by 3,500Alternate css found.

  Natural css:- Dagger Rogue

  Avaible alternate magibat css options:- Silent Assassin

  ***

  Ta ehe crisp air on her face as she sprinted effortlessly across the ste rooftop with her Stealth and cealment skills both active. She was effectively invisible even in the moonlit night. No longer were the footfalls of her soft leather boots merely quiet – they were entirely silent. She couldn’t even hear her owhing.

  Silent Assassin.

  The ill caused her heart to flutter with excitement – it was just about the stro Assassin css she could have unlocked – and well beyond her reasonable expectations. Beyond even what Kieran Mori had promised.

  Kieran Mori’s pn had been remarkably simple – a few easy assassinations before embarking upon the Css Trial as a regur bat didate and finishing it with a few monster kills. With the experience earned from those assassinations already under her belt, she was expected to unlock her css faster thaher didates.

  Ta hadn’t fully trusted Kieran Mori’s fidence, despite his sheer presend reputation. However, his trial had clearly worked.

  That and killing Donavan, she thought. Donavan had been a rather perfect stroke of luck. He had been standing right in front of her, stunned by the suddenly colpsing floor in front of them. And while he would have been fine where he had been standing, it had been so easy to push the entitled prat into the hole as the sewer disied.

  All it took was quick thinking and resourcefulness, she hadn’t even o bloody her daggers. Why dirty your hands down in sewers sying monsters when you could simply take the experience from the people who did? The only reason she had stuck with the group from then on was that she wao stab that Street Rat girl in the back during a fight.

  She frow the memory. They had had several fights, but Malika had an uny awareness of her surroundings, and try as she might, she had not been able to create an opportunity. She had just resolved to switch her target to that Beastkin boy, Mato, before he went charging off into an unwintle, ning himself and his friends to death, trying to save some dying Fae.

  Fug bleedis. Dying had the unfortunate property of killing you, and then all your experiend hard work was goaken to feed whoever killed you. There was no way she was going to risk that for anyone – certainly not a stranger in some undiscovered cavern underground. No. And now that she had her css, it was she who would be at the top of the food , preying oupid or the unprepared to fuel her own growth.

  While she was still somewhat terrified of Kieran Mori, at least he had his priorities straight. Experiend growth at all costs. Css levels meant power, and with power came the only reliable way to choose your fate. Nothing less from the man who had earhe title ‘Suddeh’.

  Allying herself with the Town Watd taking Kieran Mori as her personal mentor was the fastest path to growth. And with her css, she could now e. The money would be good – Kieran had allowed her to keep twenty pert of any loot she found on her assassinations.

  Too bad Donavan was buried under a rock, she thought. He had been wearing some expensive gear and she could always use some more . She hopped across to the building, making the jump easily with her css boo agility, heading further into the abandoned and rundown warehouse district where the Town Watch had set up their headquarters.

  It had been remarkably easy to fool the mayor with her fluttery-eyed excitement about choosing her ‘Dagger Rogue’ on css. And as soon as she had annouhat, ander Brand’s aide had lost all i in her. Dagger-based melee csses were not well suited to manning battlements and Ta well khat Dagger Rogue did not even boast any scouting skills.

  The new Guildmaster, Vivian Ross, had seemed rather disappointed when she had turned down her offer of guild membership. But there was no way she was going to join any guild like that. What was she thinking anyway? Myrin’s Keep will eat her guild and spit out the pieces. It didn’t even matter that she was one of the few three-mark people in town. Kieran was too, and he was far more dangerous than any do-gooder adventurer.

  Besides, there was a sense of brokehat followed the woman like a faint miasma, a stark trast to the sheer raw power that radiated from Mori.

  She shook off her thoughts, ing at st to the nondescript building that was the de facto headquarters of the Town Watch. Ta had done her research. The Town Watch was no mere local guard operation for some two-bit town. If it were, there would be no reason for someone like Kieran Mori to run it, nor would someone like him be tent to remain there. It had taken a signifit amount of digging, but learning that the efit was secretly the tool of the Hawkhurst Trading pany had been the final detail that sealed her decision.

  Even though he had not said as much, she khat taking Kieran Mori’s offer would expose her to far more opportuhan she had initially imagined.

  She hopped down from the roof, marveling at the perfect silence of her nding, and crept forward using the cover of trash and broken walls to sneak closer, reveling in her new skills. Just as she was about to drop her cealment skills and stealth and announce herself to the guard standing before the nondescript door in the middle of a decrepit wall covered with graffiti, it swung open on well-oiled hinges.

  Ta froze.

  A man with a stocky frame, wearing a professional smile and an expean business suit stepped out.

  What is he doing here? He never gets his hands dirty. I thought that’s what he used Mori for.

  Ta had seen Jax Hawkhurst only a few times – mostly at town cil formal events, but she instantly reized him.

  He stepped into the street, not even looking at the guard now standing at attention, and then the leather-cd figure of Kieran Mori emerged, his steps speaking of restrained power and his presence radiating into the alleyways. The guard by the entrance flinched. Kieran dismissed him, and he fled ihe building.

  And then a third figure appeared, making Ta’s heart jump to her throat as blood drained from her face. The elegantly dressed man walked up to Jax and shook his hand.

  Bastian Asterford!

  “Thank you, Jax,” Bastian said. “Good doing business with you as always. Know you t oerford family’s support in this matter.”

  Ta knew him. As did everyone iown. He was the head of the Asterford family and one of the royal representatives oown cil. One of the most powerful nobles in Myrin’s Keep.

  Fuck. I just killed his son.

  Obviously, she had known who Donavan Asterford was. And she had no puns about killing the entitled son of a noble. But she hadn’t been aware that his father was Jax Hawkhurst’s secret business partner. If Jax found out what Ta had done down in the sewers, not only would her job with Kieran Mori be forfeit, but likely also her life. He was not a man with a reputation for mercy or uanding – it wouldn’t matter o that she had no way of knowing their destine dealings – if she was discovered hurting his business or allies, she would find herself, like so many others, floating down the river in many pieces. Or forced to cripple her css and be sold off to the Kel’darran caravan.

  She stood rooted in the shadows, her mind rag with half-baked pns of running away, her jaw ched to the point of cramping. A discreet unmarked carriage appeared and Bastia. Jax spoke a few words to Kieran, who simply nodded, and then Jax vanished using some magic teleportation spell.

  “What are you doing?” Kieran Mori still faced away from her, but he was clearly addressing her directly. There was nobody else in the newly deserted alley.

  She dropped her stealth immediately. “Practig my skills, sir,” she said quickly, hiding her relief that her voice hadn’t betrayed her fear.

  “Your stealth is too good for Assassin,” he said. There was no question in his ft and uional tone, and Ta knew instinctively that she was treading on treacherous ground.

  “I got Silent Assassin,” she said, not willing to risk making up a lie. “It’s an unon css with a further stealth specialization. I get advaealth and cealment, dagger specialization, and ambush.”

  He turned slowly and fixed her with a pierg gaze while she squirmed uhe pressure, trying desperately to appear calm. Taking initiative on css choice was strictly prohibited in his anization, and he brutally enforced the rule, but this was a signifit upgrade, so she hadn’t expected him to be angry. Nor had she even been offered the Assassin css he had told her to take.

  “Good,” he said finally. “Do not mention what you saw to anyone, not even other members of the Watch.” He spun on his heel aered the building, clearly expeg her to follow.

  She scrambled into motion, rag to catch up with his long stride.

  “I have your first job already,” he said.

  Kieran Mori offers his patronage.

  Ta’s eyes widened suddenly as her heart suddenly skipped a beat. She instantly accepted the tracted Tithe Entment of his patronage, without even pausing to see the details. Tendrils of magic settled within her chest, a vaguely ing disfort, like runes inscribed directly upon the part of her soul.

  Malika

  Malika lowered herself gingerly to the damp mossy ground beside the corpse of the massive shaggy Alpha wolf, g nothing for the blood and dirt she was sitting in.

  She hurt.

  Everywhere.

  The fight had beely as dangerous as she had feared, and now she was covered in bite wounds, cuts, and gashes, many of which were still bleeding. In fact, the only thing she had not predicted correctly was the astonishing fact that, despite all odds, she was still breathing.

  Fag monstrous fangs in a tattered cotton shirt is not a recipe food time, she reflected wryly. Without that st healing potion, she would certainly have died mid-battle. She had literally used the full duration of the slow pulsing tick of its healing magic to outst the wolves tearing at her flesh. For all that she was sitting in pain, drenched in her own slowly drying blood, she was simply gd to be alive.

  Yroup has defeated Starving Wolf – level 1-3 x4. Yroup has defeated Starving Alpha – Wolf – level 5.

  Tough bastards. The starkly simple notifications listing what had died seemed woefully ie to vey just how close it had been. Even ih, the Starving Alpha seemed to exude raw strength and power. Fighting a level five monster without a css was a recipe for suicide – anyone would agree – even with all four of them. As she reflected on the fight, her notification chime sounded once again, surprising her with several new messages glowing blueish-white in her mind.

  Requirements met for css adva.

  Primary css slot avaible.Experiehreshold reached.

  Css: Thief unlocked.This css will be permaly affixed in one week.Additional css options may be avaible at a shrine.

  While she had been expeg it sometime soon, she still recoiled from the notification as the bile rose, burning ihroat.

  Thief.

  Her shoulders slumped at the sight she had been dreading for so long, dragged down by a sudden heavihat seemed to hang from her neck.

  Ten years of iured servitude to the Town Watch mattered more than her family, her passion growing up, and her very sense of self. That siification at once defined her by her as, and simultaneously ignited a deep frustrated anger within her heart. While she had expected something like this, she was still terrified that when she used the shrine back at the Town Hall, her sed choice would be revealed to be just as awful.

  Her natural path, the Thief css, was just about the worst possible option for her. A non-bat css focused on burgry – clearly coerced by the Appraise, Lockpig, and Pickpocket skills she had been forced to learn. Adrik and Edrik would be so happy – she could already hear their gloating in her mind – and that alone lenty of reason to hate the css.

  The biggest problem was that she would identify as ‘Thief’ to anyone who bothered to use Identify on her – a skill possessed by at least a third of the town – which meant she would be shunned from normal society. Far more thahe distrust she was afforded from just her Street Rat title – and would require the support of an anization just like Kieran Mori’s Town Watch to shield her.

  person picked Thief uhey had no choice. Unfortunately, that happened all too often in the slums of Myrin’s Keep.

  Why must I be defined by them?

  The rest of her life’s dire hinged on whatever was avaible at that shrine, and the sheer terror threateo overwhelm the small spark of hope in her heart. She felt withihe powerful o shift her fate, but it felt as hopeless as trying to push a mountain aside.

  “Did you…” she began.

  “I got a css…” spoke quietly.

  “Yes!” Mato announced, his excitement eg loudly in the small cave.

  They all spoke over each other in a rush. Her stomach twisted at the sight of their grinning faces and, perhaps uncharitably, she eheir excitement, but she chose not to share her private ay over her css.

  That fight must have been worth a lot of experience, she thought, realizing that they had all earheir csses at the same time. Tuning out the excited chatter of the two boys, she gnced again at the wolf corpses strewn across the cave, recalling the wild struggle of the fight and the odds stacked against them.

  It has got to be worth at least a warrior css, she told herself, driven by a powerful o trol her ay. I get one more shot. Malika deliberately steadied her breathing. Hopefully the Aors have a sense of fairness, she thought, ign the fact that she had stopped praying to them precisely because of the unfairness of her life. If she got a css, she would finally be able to work her way free of Adrik and Edrik and the rest of the despicable Town Watch, pay off her debts, and earn an ho living.

  Now all I have to do is make it back to the Town Hall, avoid Adrik and Edrik, a lucky with a good css. And then avoid them for long enough to get some levels. That’s all. No big deal … right?

  It was with a small sense of rekindled hope that she looked up curiously at Aliandra now standing before her, speaking irange nguage.

  Did she get a css, too? Of their little improbable group, she looked the worst. Amber and red blood mingled, dreng her tattered clothes, and matting her long green hair. Her eyes still held a dazed wideness as she tried to speak yet again.

  Probably still in shock.

  As Malika tried to make sense of her strange lyrical words, the Fae girl reached out and took her hand, tugging insistently. Malika studied the delicate frown and the huge ear eyes peering out from behind the mask of dried blood that caked her face, trying to decipher her meaning. Her kind were rare – far rarer thaories would have you believe – and Malika had never seen a Fae in person before. Her long green hair was so vibrant it almost seemed luminous with natural golden highlights that matched her eyes.

  And those eyes… She’d be so pretty without all the dirt and blood. Eveiny golden wings that were twitg with suppressed emotion as she struggled to make herself uood were stunning, glowing a soft golden hue.

  Why didn’t she just… oh. She ’t fly. The wings were tiny even on her frame, and if she could have just taken to the air, she would never have been trapped fighting those wolves.

  Aliandra spoke again and pulled. It was the tired pull of a tiny person almost entirely spent.

  Slowly, Malika stood up. “What do you need?” she asked. It was clear that Aliandra wanted her to follow but was uo tell her why. And it’s more important to her thaing. As soon as Malika began to move, Aliandra repeated her gesture with the boys.

  “I think she wants us to go with her,” Malika told them. Whatever she wanted, it seemed important, but not the kind ency that told of immi danger.

  “’t hurt to see what she wants,” Mato said, grunting as he heaved himself to his feet.

  His voice was back to his usual friendly self, and Malika frowned briefly. She hadn’t fiven him fetting them all into this mess in the first pce, but for now, she was willing to let it slide. And probably, once she returo town and figured out her css, she wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore.

  She limped out of the cave, careful to avoid the patches of blood-slicked stone, grimag as she was forced to put weight on her more injured leg. That one will definitely need proper healing, she thought. The deep cerations inflicted by the sharp wolf es would probably require a trip to the Temple of Lunaré if she didn’t want to be permaly crippled. And that meant she would o find money. She sighed. Another problem for ter.

  She followed the tiny barefoot Fae out of the cave and on into the a dead forest, her thoughts, for onot ed with possible danger. Instead, her mind raced, running in incessant circles like a dog chasing its own tail. Hope, and the promise of deliverance from her miserable existe the hands of Adrik and Edrik – if the shrine showed her a good css. Despair at the iability of another css like Thief. Surely it would give her something worse. Around and arouhoughts spiraled, like muddy water cirg the drain of despair.

  We just o get back to town safely, she thought, trying to quash the maelstrom withihrough sheer power of will. With no potions, she added. Maybe then life will stop kig me ieeth?

  It was easy to follow Aliandra in the darkness and Malika’s injuries appreciated the slower pace. Golden light shone from the tiny disk of mana that hovered above her head, and from the short, stubby wings that jutted out, protruding from the back of her torn t-shirt.

  Just like that golden butterfly… The thought popped right into her head, along with an inexplicable pang of sadness. A sudden juxtaposition of freedom and clipped wings. What happeo her?

  A Malika could not help but marvel at the floating struct. It was rare for people to have a mana affinity, let alone before they earheir css. Even though Aliandra’s magic seemed fragile and delicate, Malika owed her life to that Fae magiehow, Aliandra – a person of such tiny stature that Mato’s biceps were probably bigger thaorso – had mao turide of the battle at the most critical moment. She had ce, that was for certain.

  Their winding path took them around a fallen trees, thick trunks lying taller than houses, with piles of shattered bones led up against the dark and bed wood. Bck mushrooms and fungus grew everywhere, adding to the ominous sense of death and the stench of decay.

  Somewhere during the fight, Malika had lost her shoes. Not that they had been particurly sturdy or secure in the first pce. But she felt the transition as her feet left the squishy damp earth and found purchase on a stohway hiddeh a thin yer of dirt.

  A path?

  Suddenly, they rounded a massive deg bed stump, bigger than most they had passed so far, and emerged inte clearing. Malika stopped and stared. All about the dead grove, golden glowing shards sparkled brightly in the darkness, embedded into trees and stone in a radial pattern around the epiter of what must have been an enormous explosion.

  Aliandra’s magic faded, unneeded in the bright glow, and Malika couldn’t help but notice that it had beely the same golden color. The same color as the explosion that had woken her up in that alleyway.

  What happened here? It was clearly the aftermath of some tremendously powerful are event, a she couldn’t fathom what it might have been. Did she do this? she wondered, gng at Aliandra. But the profound sadness etched upon the Fae’s face told her in an instant that it was something infinitely more personal. This pce held a deep meaning for their strange panion.

  “Look,” said, pointing, his voice hushed.

  Raising her head, Malika found a tall obelisk of bck stone looming up out of the darkness beyond the shattered golden shards. It was smooth, the surface highly polished, and it stood far taller than even Mato or . With a bck so dark it stood out even against the darkness of the cavern, seeming to e every trace of light. Faintly glowing markings covered the surface, ruched in soft green and gold.

  Is that a shrine? she thought, suddenly struck by the simirity to the artifact William Turner used ba the Town Hall. Onpressive to her, the small artifact she had used to unlock her experience seemed but a toy beside the immense struing before her. Even as she stepped forward, she sehe pressure radiating from it, a tangible force prig against her skin.

  Is this why she brought us here?

  “It looks like a css shrine,” said, moving up to stand beside her, his eyes glued to the stone.

  Even though he echoed her own thoughts, Malika struggled to believe it. “If that’s a css shrine, we would still he owo activate it for us,” she said. The mayor’s css shrine had remained worthless, i until he had specifically activated it for her.

  “I don’t think that will be a problem,” answered, “Look at the owner.”

  She used Appraise.

  Shrine of the A GroveAn a mystical shrine of unknown in. Offers advanced css features and attu of tent mana affinity.Owner: Aliandra AmarielMana Siphon (Active)Mana: Unlock css experiena: Unlock or enhaent magical affinitiesMana: Unlock alternate cssesOwner’s Mana: Recharge the shrine’s mana reserve. 308,050/1,250,000Quality: UniqueValue: SoulboundShrine – Artifact

  “By the aors…” she whispered, her feet fetting how to walk in the moment as she stared openmouthed at the moal artifact.

  She’s the owner?

  Malika gnced over at Aliandra in surprise, finding that she had turned and was watg her as if waiting for her response. As soon as she met her eyes, Aliandra made an invitiure towards her and poio the shrine.

  Malika turned back to study the shrine carefully, her heart beginning to thump within her chest as a mix of apprehension and anticipation spiked within her. It’s got a lot more options thaown shrine, she thought. It was the sed time she had ever appraised a soulbound item – the first being William Turner’s shrine. And the first time she had ever seen something of unique-grade quality. And what’s with that insane amount of mana reserved?

  Even without nguage, Aliandra’s iion was clear, and Malika knew she rocrastinating. Wrestling with hat threateo spiral out of trol, Malika stepped up and pced her hand on the cool stone surface of the shrine.

  Please, please… a good css. Just one.

  She eled her mana into the shriaking the option to unlo alternate css, and a sudden chime sounded in her mind.

  [Shrine of the A Grove] Reserved mana reduced by 35,0006 Alternate csses found.

  Natural css:- Thief

  Avaible alternate non-bat css options:- Pickpocket- Smuggler- Artist- Swindler

  Avaible alternate bat css options:- Assassin- Thug

  Oh… fuck… The world dropped out from under her as she stared at her options. The nightmare she had dreaded had e true – all her avaible choices were reted to her st few years of forced crime and ry. She stared dumbfou the crushiy – she hadn’t even realized this shrine would unlock more thaernate css choice, but even so, every single one of her choices was equally awful.

  g down on the powerful urge to cry, she lowered her head trying to hide her shame. I’m not even worth a single on warrior css? Not even for all that blood and pain? Even if she refused the choices, the Thief css would be forced on her, and then she would be stuck, forced unfairly into a life of crime.

  Perhaps it’s irely hopeless, she thought, trying desperately to believe it. The Assassin css would at least identify as a ‘Rogue’. But the thought of taking a css that was best used for murder filled her with a wave of nausea as her guts twisted into a knot.

  She looked at the Thug. At least it’s a bat css? She tried to make it seem better, but she was absolutely certain that this was Adrik and Edrik’s css.

  Just as she was about to break down, a tiny hand shook her by the shoulder, a small touch that reached through her shame insistent that she notice. What does she want? Malika tried to focus on Aliandra who eaking quickly and showing a hand with two fingers raised in a ‘V’ auring urgently to the shrine. She repeated the gesture several times, clearly frustrated with her inability to unicate.

  “What are y to say?” Malika’s frustration and despair crept out into her voice.

  “I think she’s saying the shrine has two options we use,” said.

  Two? Surprised, Malika looked again. Sure enough, there was a sed option. It had been there all along, and in her focus and ay about css choices, she had not eve. Struggling to prevent an irrational surge of hope, she let a little of her mana flow into the mysteriously worded option for tent magical affinity.

  [Shrine of the A Grove] Exposi magical affinities may permaly alter your current and future css choices. Proceed?

  I have nothing to lose. She firmed the choice.

  The shrine hummed and a deep resonant gong sounded within her mind.

  Sudden power thrummed through her body, and she felt the hair stand up on the back of her arms and neck. The entire clearing fred into nohtness as her body began to emit a powerful bluish-white light that seemed to burst out from within. Her ears filled with a r like a powerful waterfall crashing down, around, and through her. The energy c through her tore through her body, mind, and soul, raising her like a ragdoll several feet into the air, bsting open hidden doors within her mind, doors to pces at once familiar and simultaneously entirely fn to her.

  Suddenly the power vanished, and the shrine fell silent once again. She dropped to the ground in a heap, her legs momentarily unresponsive, as darkness returo the clearing.

  [Shrine of the A Grove] Reserved mana reduced by 50,000You have gained an affinity for Soul Magic. Your Aptitudes have been updated.New css options are avaible.

  Her hand shook with the aftereffects of the rush of power and no small amount of nervousness as she touched the shrine once again to see how her css choices might have ged.

  [Shrine of the A Grove] Reserved mana reduced by 9,5002 Additional alternate csses found.

  Natural css:- Thief

  Avaible alternate non-bat css options:- Pickpocket- Artist- Swindler

  Avaible alternate bat css options:- ThugAvaible alternate magibat css options:- Soul Assassin- Soul Monk

  It ged! She clutched at her heart, holding her breath against the flutters that exploded in her belly. It had ged, but was it enough?

  It seemed she had lost the Smuggler and Assassin css s, and in their pce, she had gaiwo magibat css choices, presumably based on her newly discovered tent affinity for soul magi trepidation she opehe first new , the Soul Assassin css, but immediately discarded it as simply a more powerful version of the basic Assassin.

  With a trembling hand toug the cold stone of the shrine, she opened her final css choice.

  Soul MonkThe Soul Monk walks the hs of the a Ahn Khen, striving for bah within and without. Profit at trolling her energy, she is fident, fag evero enemies without balking. Holding body and soul in harmony, she fights with crity and power, a master of the styles of unarmed and unarmored fighting.Requirements: Ahn Khen bloodline. Soul Magic affinity.Meditation skill. Fought multiple enemies unarmed and unarmored.Used martial arts and acrobatic teiques in bat.Saved a panion’s life in bat.Has received exteraining in Martial Arts.Attributes: +10 per level.Traits: Soul, Bloodline, bat, Melee, Defense, Healing, Dexterity, Wisdom, Endurance.Quality: Rare.Css – batWould you like to ge your css to Soul Monk?

  Her breath caught ihroat as she frantically reread the description looking for that detail that would show it to be a lie aroy her hope. But she could find nothing. She was looking at a rare martial artist css with the bag of soul magic rooted in her aral heritage.

  The hs?

  She had never evehe sacred texts, but the elders spoke sagely of the wisdom tained in their pages.

  Moments ticked away while she stared, scarcely believing what she was being offered. Memories of her childhood in the dojo flickered through her mind, practig her forms and drills, listening to her parents’ instru, and dreaming of the future.

  The years sihe destru of her hometown and her family had been harsh, brutally crushing her dreams and grinding them to dust. In this one moment, all her hopes and dreams reignited with an iy that made her heart race. And for the first time in ten years, she did not instantly squash them.

  Quickly, before something else ged, or the unbelievable glowing words vanished back to wherever they had e from, she firmed the css choice.

  You have gaihe css: Soul Monk.Soul Monk has reached level 1.+10 attribute points.

  You have lost the general skill: Basic Martial Arts.You have lost the general skill: Acrobatics.You have lost the general skill: Pickpocket.

  You have gaihe Relentless aptitude.

  Malika stumbled away from the shrine, nding oone of the path as her new css absorbed all her hard-earned bat skills in a wave of vision-blurring dizzihat made her queasy.

  But the chimes tinued, heralding the brightly shining lines of blue-white script that marched across her mind’s eye, a relentless searing song of ge that burself into her very soul.

  You have gaihe css skill Martial Artist.Martial Artist – level 1Requires: Unarmed.You are profit with unarmed and acrobatic martial arts fighting styles. Your rea speed is enhaamina: Deliver a Melee Attabsp;with any part of your body. Attack damage is increased by +42.7% [40 + skill + dexterity / 10].Physical, Melee, Attack, Mastery, Dexterity

  You have gaihe css skill Soul Strike.Soul Strike – level 1Mana: Enhance a Melee Attabsp;with your Soul magic, striking directly at the life energy of your oppo. A portion of this health is returo you. Your Attabsp;gains +54% [40 + skill + wisdom] additional Soul damage. Raouch.Soul, Melee, Support, Wisdom

  You have gaihe css skill Healing Mantra.Healing Mantra – level 1Mana: The e between your body and soul is strong. Instantly regee mortal wounds aore health to anyone you touch. Raouch.Soul, Melee, Healing, Wisdom

  You have gaihe css skill Perfect Body.Perfect Body – level 1Mana: Your Endurance, Wisdom, aerity are increased by +42.3% [40 + skill + base wisdom / 10]. Reserve: 20%Soul, Buff, WisdomYou have gaihe css skill Soul Armor.Soul Armor – level 1Requires: No body armor or shield equipped.Mana: Your soul reinforces your body increasing your Armor by +7 [skill x 7]. Reserve: 10%Soul, Melee, Defense, Endurance

  You have gaihe css skill Enlightened Evasion.Enlightened Evasion – level 1Requires: No body armor or shield equipped.Stamina: Your martial arts grants insight into avoiding physical attacks. While unencumbered by armor, your Evasion is increased by +7 [skill x 7]. Reserve: 10%Physical, Melee, Defense, Dexterity

  She sat in the middle of the path overe with emotioing the tears of joy and relief spill unnoticed down her face. Through the haze of her vision, she could make out a ed expression as Aliandra hovered nearby.

  “Thank you,” Malika said, giving words to the upwelling surge of gratitude in her heart, and reached out her hand, knowing she would not be uood. If it had not been for Aliandra’s shrine, she knew she would be up iown Hall trying to decide which of her initial css choices was the least awful. As soon as her fiouched Aliandra’s hand, she used her new Healing Mantra skill. A surge of energy flowed through her, passing through her hands and into the Fae girl, and, with a fsh of blueish-white light, instantly erased the scrapes and bruises she had sustained in the fight.

  Wow, that is incredible! She had just healed someone instantly, and all it took was a little of her mana. Even Aliandra yelped with surprise, examining her now unblemished skin.

  She eled her mana a sed time, this time healing herself. It cost signifitly more mana, and she felt the burning energy searing through her own body as her wounds closed and her health recovered in a rush. The sudden ck of pain was almost shog, her mind seeming to refuse to believe it for a moment. But when she rose to her feet, she could walk without limping.

  Quickly, she healed and then Mato. For all his jovial and friendly outward attitude, the Beastkin had been severely injured aook even more mana to heal than she had spent on herself.

  “Thanks,” he said with a straightforward ho smile.

  “You were hiding some serious wounds,” she said. “You should have said something.” Given what she had sensed from her skill, he must have been ign an enormous amount of pain.

  “Not much use pining,” he answered with a shrug. “We were out of healing potions.”

  Malika finally found a rge ft rod sat, nding heavily, her head spinning with all the new information and ges. “I need a minute.” Closing her eyes, she settled herself with her Meditation skill for a few moments. With her new, calmer perspective, she reviewed all the ges, trying to get an overall sense of what she had unlocked.

  My css has a strong foartial arts and unarmed bat.

  Everything Malika had dreamed of was ed up in her new Martial Artist attack skill. She would put her training to good use and develop her teique and style. Soul Strike seemed to be a powerful support skill that could turn any kick or punch she made with her Martial Artist skill into potent attacks enhanced with her new soul magic. But the ability to recover health on each attack was extraordinary, she couldn’t think of one example of a fighting css that started with su ability.

  I have a heal, an attribute boost, and two defense skills for dodging and armor. She tinued her cataloging, slowly f her overall impression of what she had gained. An unarmed martial artist with a magic damage strike and healing. But I ’t use armor or ons. Malika sidered the implications carefully. She didn’t quite know how, but she felt that this css really resonated with who she was, almost as if it had beeed for her.

  Perhaps it’s more about who I’ve allowed myself to be, she thought soberly. Suppressing her dreams for so long might just be the reason she had been offered csses that were so antithetical to her view of herself. Those csses had been offered to the person she had allowed herself to bee.

  It had to have been her as in that st fight that finally resulted in a css that matched her heart’s desire. The Street Rat would have ruing her path forever. But she had thrown herself into an impossible fight against a wolf pack to save Aliandra, and somehow, she had reected to the core of herself: her hopes, dreams, her identity, and her life before Myrin’s Keep, all rolled up into o was the first time she had put her life on the line and used her martial arts training to save someone.

  She took a deep breath a out slowly.

  Looks like I will o i ierity, wisdom, and endurance mostly. sidering her rough day, and the advice her parents had always given, she spent two of her ten attribute points on vitality. The four into dexterity and two eato wisdom and endurance.

  That looks like a good start. She smiled as she looked over her status, finding the familiar blue-white floatio have dramatically updated.

  Name: MalikaRace: HumanTitles: Street Rat

  Css: Soul Monk – level 1- Martial Artist – level 1- Soul Strike – level 1- Healing Mantra – level 1- Perfect Body – level 1- Soul Armor – level 1- Enlightened Evasion – level 1- [Locked]- [Locked]- [Locked]- [Locked]

  General Skills- Meditation – level 3- Dang – level 4- Calligraphy – level 3- Lockpig – level 4- Appraise – level 5

  Aptitudes- Languages: on- Bloodline (Ahn Khen): Dormant- Mana (Affinity): Soul- Relentless (Css): +100% to Stamina Regeioless (Css): You pay for any abilities with stamina instead of mana

  Attributes- Vitality: 10- Strength: 7- Endurance: 14- Dexterity: 17- Perception: 10- Intelligence: 9- Wisdom: 13

  Health: 100/100Stamina: 87/140Mana: 63/130

  I might still be a Street Rat, but I’m so much more than that, she thought. I’ll never suppress my values or dreams again.

  She had a lot to think about.

  Relentless. Her css had given her quite the extraordinary Aptitude – enhaamina regeion and the ability to substitute stamina for mana would mean quite a lot of flexibility in using her skills.

  She tinued down the sheet, examining each detail. One of the primary traits for her Soul Monk css was defense, and it seemed this maed in her Soul Armor and Enlightened Evasion skills – both of which were passive defense skills. I guess they’re not precisely passive skills, she thought, her eyes drawn to the mana and stamina reserve cost for each respectively. Will they stay on as long as I set aside that resource to power them?

  How does this even work?

  She recalled the description for her Soul Armor to her mind, prodding the glowing blue-white words that appeared, trying to dislodge a hint or two, but nothing was forthing. No instrus?

  The skill clearly indicated that it needed mana, but the entire ‘reserve’ cept was o her. Maybe it works like Appraise? Or the shrine? Both of those had taken mana to power them.

  She cleared her mind and focused on the glowi of the description and tried to shove a little mana at it. Nothing happened, but… what was that? It wasn’t the text, but she had felt something hidden seemingly beyond it. She refocused on whatever that was a a little mana.

  In a sudden surge that filled her body, that something shifted, and a sizeable k of her mana vanished, diverted and drawn into whatever it was in an instant.

  Reserved mana has increased by 13.You have gained Soul Armor.

  Pale blue-white runes shimmered across her skin, soaking in, and quickly fading away, leaving her feeling somewhat… denser? She flexed her arms, but her movemehe same as normal. She poked herself with a finger. Whoa, that’s different! Instead of giving like normal, her skin and muscle seemed to resist the pressure of her finger, refusing to bend.

  Excitement mounting, she tried Enlightened Evasion. Instead of mana, she fed it stamina, but besides that, she found the skill quickly, and just like Soul Armor, it ed a big k.

  Reserved stamina has increased by 14.You have gained Enlightened Evasion.

  A bit pretentious, this one, she thought. Only the Aors, or perhaps some of the Elders, could credibly cim enlighte. But her thought va the sensation of the runes once again alighting on her skin and imbuing her body with their power. This time, as they faded into her, she sensed responsiveness rather than denseness. She waved her arm bad forth, trying to capture the feeling of what had ged. She wasly faster, but the movements definitely seemed to e easier.

  As her skills turned on, her mana and stamina avaible for other skills decreased by the amount reserved. Ten pert reserve eabsp;she thought, firming her uanding of how the cost worked. Turning the skills on and off seemed intuitive enough, now that she had figured it out, but then an idea occurred to her.

  Relentless should work for Soul Armht? It does ana…

  She found it surprisingly straightforward to switch her Soul Armor from using mana to using stamina instead.

  Reserved mana has decreased by 13.Reserved stamina has increased by 14.

  She switched it baana. I probably amina more, she thought, sidering that she would likely always be using her Martial Artist skill, spending stamina to empower her training. And the reserve is slightly smaller for mana.

  Satisfied that she uood her defense skills, at least in principle, she moved on to her Perfect Body skill. This looks strong. She remembered her lessons stressing the importance of increasing your skills by iing in the appropriate attributes. This skill would increase all her attributes and it would grow as she leveled. Curious, she activated the skill. Her skin flickered briefly with the glowing ruhat gently faded away after a few moments. Her body immediately felt lighter and faster.

  She opened her status once again to see the effects. The first thing she noticed was a new lihat had appeared right below her Street Rat title.

  Name: MalikaRace: HumanTitles: Street Rat

  Active Buffs: Perfect Body, Soul Armor, Enlightened Evasion

  So, they do stay on, she thought. Her eyes strayed down the much longer list of text to fitributes.

  Attributes- Vitality: 10- Strength: 7- Endurance: 19 (+5)- Dexterity: 24 (+7)- Perception: 10- Intelligence: 9- Wisdom: 18 (+5)

  Armor: 7Physical Damage Redu: 20%Evasion: 7Dodge: 20%

  Health: 100/100Stamina: 89/190 (19 Reserved)Mana: 64/180 (54 Reserved)

  That’s… incredible. No wonder she felt lighter and faster. Her endurance, dexterity, and wisdom were indeed signifitly higher with the skill activated, just as the skill description indicated. As a result of the attribute increases to endurand wisdom, her maximum stamina and mana had risen to one hundred and y and one hundred ay respectively, although the avaible totals were shown as lower because of the cost of running her Perfect Body, Enlightened Evasion, and Soul Armor simultaneously. The reservation costs for her defense skills had risen proportionally too. Additionally, every single skill that was tagged with one of the boosted attributes had presumably improved because of it. Well, apart from Perfect Body. But she felt it made sehat the skill wouldn’t boost itself. It’s also the only skill that says it scales off the base wisdom attribute.

  Her status sheet had been updated to reflect the effects of her two defense skills now that she was using them. From her training, she khat her Dodge and Damage Redu pertages represented her abilities versus an attacker of the same level. The effectiveness would dee against higher-level monsters ainst skills that were desigo oppose her defenses. However, ‘always on’ skills like hers had substantial advantages over crafted armor. It would not be possible to avoid her armor with accuracy, for example, uhe leather armor Mato was wearing whiecessarily left some portions of the body exposed to attacks, and hence vulnerable to precision strikes or area damage.

  It felt a little like being in math css all ain, but this time the numbers would mean the differeween life ah. Soul Monk was far better than anything she could have hoped for. Feeling uncharacteristically whimsical, she gave herself a good, hard pinch just to check she wasn’t still asleep on that wood pile. Damn, it’s real. One day she might even have a ce to settle the score with Adrik and Edrik.

  Right, back to business. I will be fighting with a ten pert stamina deficit, and a thirty pert mana deficit, and in exge I’m much harder to kill, she summarized for herself. The big picture made more seo her thaails, but she was happy she had made herself uand the specifics too – who knew when she would o ge something in an emergency?

  I’ll worry about the rest of the details ter, she thought, deg that the seemingly expeal reservation costs were easily worth it for what her skills gave her. She got up and moved through several kig and pung drills to get a sense of the enhanced speed and how it would affect her. Her grin grew as she flew through the drills faster than she had ever moved, and with more precision than she believed possible.

  The remainder of her abilities would have to wait for an enemy before she could test them properly, so she sat and watched her panions using the shrine, resonating with the excitement on ’s face as he lit up the entire clearing with an intense pure white light, and Mato’s joyous excmation as his tent mana affinity turhe spato a green glowing aura with ethereal floating leaves.