Chapter 161: Book 3: In Which a Very Important Misunderstanding is Addressed
Before I leave, I pay a visit to Virin. I haven't forgotten the way he helped me out with imbuements, and it's because of him that I was able to fix He-Who-Guards. It's because of him that Isthanok's casualties weren't... well, significantly worse. The research he wants me to help with is a small price to pay in comparison, even if I haven't kept up with it as much as I should have.
This time, though, I notice something I haven't noticed before. I can feel the imbuement within the stone through my Firmament sense. More importantly...
"This thing has a Strength skill in it," I mutter in surprise.
It's not a weak Strength skill, either. My ability to parse Firmament constructs isn't so advanced that I can immediately tell what skill it is, but I can at least tell what level of complexity it's at. As far as I can tell, this thing is at least a rank A skill. Maybe even higher.
"Interface skill?" Virin asks immediately, leaning close in interest. His daughter plays around near the back of his hut, uninterested in what we're doing.
"No. Well, I don't know," I admit. I've encountered skills outside the Interface frequently enough that I'm starting to wonder if they originate with the Interface at all. "Maybe. But it feels like a Strength skill."
"How you know?"
"It's hard to explain." I quite literally don't have the words to explain it, and even if I did, Naru's waiting for me outside—I don't really want to unveil all the secrets I've discovered right in front of him. "I only figured it out recently. You'll have to trust me."
"I trust!" Virin says firmly; I have to laugh a bit at his enthusiasm. He's never failed to be incredibly excited every time I tell him we're working together on this.