Chapter 56: The Eye of the Storm
“What did you do?” The guard stood in front of the scorched and empty cell, nudging the broken collar with her boot. She stopped and looked at Coop. It was obviously too much of a coincidence for him to have arrived immediately before a prisoner escaped, but Coop was counting on the limitations placed on the aliens by the system.
“Nothing too dramatic.” Derek answered, inadvertently giving a suspicious answer after the guard had previously suspected Coop. “He just popped his collar off and started going wild with his skills. You know he’s been trying to get out ever since you put him in there.”
The guard raised an eyebrow at them before she huffed like she’d rather be somewhere else, spun on her feet, and went back into the stairwell. Coop breathed a small sigh of relief that the guard seemed to be playing along even if she was onto him. He counted thirty seconds, feeling like it took forever, before he ripped his own collar off and activated Presence of Mind to mask his aura, then placed his five unallocated points from his previous level into Mind. He identified the other prisoners as he moved to remove Derek’s collar.
[Human (Level 12)]
[Virtuoso (Acumen)]
[(Requiem)]
Coop would never have guessed that someone like Derek would have a class called Virtuoso. His first impression was more like some kind of scoundrel, but his class really made him sound fancy. Coop wondered what his skills were like. Derek rubbed his neck while Coop moved the bars to their cell and went to the hopeless prisoner.
“What’s your name?” Coop belatedly asked.
“Marcus.” He answered while finally standing up.
[Human (Level 25)]
[Hierophant (Intelligence)]
[Chosen of the Endless Empire]