Penicillium - Chapter Forty-Two
I had a tough choice to make. I really wanted to get into that academy. It would give me access to the sort of education I craved since coming to this world, and access to the people responsible for many of the issues I was seeing in this city.
Basically, two wants rolled into one. It was the kind of opportunity that I probably wasn't going to see again, and I didn't want to miss out on it.
[Three Faced Assassin] would, without any doubt, give me the skill I needed to skip past any tests that checked my class information, and might be enough to get past people with skills that did similar things. I was sure that kind of person would be present in the guard around the very wealthy.
[Angel of Death] was just better in every way, though it obviously lacked the one skill that [Three Faced Assassin] had.
It wasn't the only good option, of course. Maybe I didn't want to continue down the path of a killer?
I hadn't realised it until then, but the way this system worked tended to lock a person into a singular way of life.
If you worked hard in one field, you couldn't just stop and try something else, because even with a new class, most of your good options would be based on past experiences. A worker would always be a worker, at best able to branch out into something similar to what they'd done before.
It was kind of messed up.
If I took [Angel of Death] would I be locking myself into that kind of spiral?
I checked the last class that I had on my list of options. The only {Legendary} Class I'd seen so far. [Rot Spreader {Legendary}]
The need for revenge has grabbed you by the soul, now let your body match your willingness to ruin the world. You will become the living embodiment of plague and rot. Your flesh might melt, your soul might rot, but what few shreds of your mind remain will direct your will to ending those who harmed you.
Class requirements: HATRED
Class Skills: [Blight {Epic}], [Summon Mushroom Elementals {Epic}], [Rot {Legendary}]
Still tempting, though not nearly as tempting as it had once been. Was I growing soft? Was my hate cooling off?
Probably. I was in a maturing body, with better emotional control. Or at least, as good as it could be when I was physically eight. I was... not looking forward to how puberty and conflicting hormones would mess with my mind, but that was an issue for later.
No, I'd stick to waffling on about my two current options.
And of those two, one was just better. It didn't provide a solution to my current problem, but damn if it didn't come close. Maybe I'd just need to find another, better solution without having to rely on the system for it.
Bribes and lies existed long before classes and skills.
[Congratulations! You have unlocked the [Angel of Death {Rare}] Class!]
[The following Skills have been added to your repertoire:]
[Cherub of Death {Rare}]
[Guileless Eyes {Uncommon}]
[Unnoticeable {Uncommon}]
[Because of prior experiences, and because of cross-class compatibility, the following skills are immediately available to you:]
[Small blade proficiency {Common}]
[Silent Takedown {Common}]
[Critical Sense {Common}]
[Basic Larceny {Common}]
[Sense Life {Uncommon}]
[Trap Sense {Uncommon}]
[Obscure Poison {Rare}]
[Poison Blooded {Rare}]
[Poison Enhancer {Rare}]
[Commune with God {Rare}]
[Angel's Touch {Rare}]
[You have two remaining Class Skill slots.]
Okay, that was a lot to digest. But I figured the easiest thing to do was to start from the top.
[Cherub of Death {Rare}]
Blessed by the divine and instructed to kill, you can more easily weaponize your willpower and will be seen as innocent by those who observe you. You gain mana from those you kill personally.
Category: Divine magic, Social skills
Oh, that was gorgeous. Was it a skill that used up my mana actively? If so, then I'd have to be a little more careful with it, but it was essentially an upgraded version of my [Social Manipulation] skill, but far more potent. Gaining mana though, that was fantastic. My piddly 60 mana is not nearly enough. Besides, I was planning on killing a few people anyway.
I supposed that was normal, being a {Rare} compared to an {Uncommon}
[Guileless Eyes {Uncommon}]
By locking eyes with a creature and pushing your will towards them, you can make them believe the unbelievable.
If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Category: Social magic
I felt a twist in my gut at that one. Not because the idea was awful but because I had no resistance to exactly that kind of skill. What was stopping someone from using this on me? And it was merely an {Uncommon} skill. By my estimates, something like one person in a hundred would have something similar at their disposal.
I needed some skills to resist social magic in the future. It wasn't exactly a top priority, but it was getting there.
[Unnoticeable {Uncommon}]
You can pass unnoticed at will, slipping through crowds as just one more person or seeming as though you belong even when you don't.
Category: Stealth, Social skills
Eh, alright. Not the greatest skill, but it could come in handy, I supposed. It seemed to be at-will, so at least it wouldn't hurt.
Next, I looked over my options for new skills, keeping in mind that I didn't need to pick anything now, and that I'd unlocked five new General skill slots for new skills. I could also soon (once I'd gained a few levels to spare) get rid of one of my older skills. There were a couple that I wasn't using as much, or which I might have better options for now.
[Small blade proficiency {Common}] wasn't that useful. I didn't want to have to use knives, and I wouldn't waste a class skill on that. Maybe a General skill though. [Silent Takedown {Common}] was all about being quiet while killing. Neat, but not necessary. [Critical Sense {Common}] was also neat. Its description suggested that I'd be able to tell where to hit something for maximum effect. A good skill for a physical fighter. I didn't get physical though.
Then there was [Basic Larceny {Common}], which seemed to be all about breaking and entering, making the process a little more instinctual. Not something I was looking for. [Sense Life {Uncommon}] I could replace with a mushroom, and it used mana besides. [Trap Sense {Uncommon}] was a little more tempting, especially if I was going to return to a dungeon, but... maybe not just yet.
Then the skills got more interesting. [Obscure Poison {Rare}] let me pass off obviously poisonous things as non-poisons.
[Obscure Poison {Rare}]
You can imbue poisons with your will and mana, making them seem as ordinary and harmless to those with the skills to observe and notice poisons.
Category: Assassination magic
Useful. I wanted this skill for my status, but having something for poisons might be useful too.
[Poison Blooded {Rare}]
Your blood becomes imbued with the effects of any non-magical poison you consume at the cost of your own mana, becoming itself lethal to any who consume it. You become immune to any poison you absorb.
Category: Physical enhancement, Poison magic
Now this one was much, much nicer. Poison immunity meant I could get rid of [Basic Poison Resistance] outright. It didn't work on magical poisons, but maybe that would come as a subskill. And then having blood that was poisonous would be... fantastic in certain situations. Anything that bit me would regret it. It would certainly teach Sir Nibbles a lesson about nibbling on me.
[Poison Enhancer{Rare}] was interesting, but not so much so that I wanted to take it. I could spend mana on a poison to make its effects much more potent.
[Poison Enhancer {Rare}]
You can imbue poisons of your making with your will, controlling them and their effects from afar and greatly enhancing their potency.
Category: Poison magic
The ranged control seemed awesome though. Was it just ranged activation, or would I be able to manipulate the poisons in the air like a wizard controlling water or something?
[Commune with God {Rare}] was a skill that I'd once had, literally years ago. I'd used it... maybe half a dozen times? It was interesting, but not something I cared for. Feronie and I had an agreement. I didn't need to chat with her every day to keep things up.
And that left [Angel's Touch {Rare}].
[Angel's Touch {Rare}]
You can, with prayer and the will of your god at your side, bless those you touch with minor healing or minor curses.
Category: Faith magic, Divine magic
Now this was a lot nicer. I was sure that if I asked for Feronie's help while touching an industrialist, she'd blast them good.
The choices here were rather obvious.
[Congratulations! You have obtained the Poison Blooded {Rare} Skill!]
[Congratulations! You have obtained the Angel's Touch {Rare} Skill!]
Now I was all equipped to have a fun time at school!
***