Walking to Clearbay, trying to avoid the main road, has been absolutely miserable.
I don't think I've ever been this frustrated with my life. Ever.
At first, I had an idea of where I was going, but see, the problem is that Clearwater is a city built on the sea, propped up from the waters. All around it, there's a lagoon. Or many lagoons. I don't know the terminology honestly. Anyway, Clearwater's lagoon is made of many small bodies of water encased by patches of land. You can't go straight to Clearwater if you are not on the main road. You must, instead, circle around all these little bodies of water and, unless you have a Supporting Skill for orientation, trust me, you're going to get lost.
Which, getting lost, is my case at the moment.
Luckily enough, I've met a carriage.
"Why haven't you killed him yet?" The pretty girl with turquoise hair and blue eyes asks the big fella who's probably her escort.
"Huh, I'd like not to get killed. And I'm not joking. I was instructed by a secret master on many Skills. I'm currently on my way to Clearwater to clear my first Dungeon after many years of instructions," I say, straightening my back and trying to put on a smug face.
"If that's the case, why aren't you already classed up?" The man asks.
"Well," I say, clearing my throat to take time, "my master doesn't want me to wantonly class up. He had me wait until I was mature enough. I could be quite a rascal in my young age."
I rest a hand under my chin thoughtfully.
"Are you even eighteen?" The guard frowns.
"I'm an old soul," I reply wisely. "Now, what's it going to cost you to try me? I'm not asking for anything. I'll show you guidance on one Skill. Just one. My master asked me to otherwise keep my identity secret. This, however, is an emergency."
Perhaps taken by how confident I sound, the girl and the guard look at each other.
"Greyson?" The girl asks with a raised eyebrow.
"Milady, there's no harm in entertaining this for a few minutes. He does not have any levels. He's not a threat. You could probably kill him yourself in one blow."
"Eew," the girl with blue eyes replies.
"Hey," I say, offended. "You'd be lucky to kill me, ok? And if you don't want to learn, I can teach the big guy something. As I said, there's no Skill I can't Tutor."
"You? You couldn't teach a bird to fly, a fish to swim, or a lady to drink tea."
A lady to drink tea? I frown. Do ladies take to tea like a bird to flight? What the hell? Is she drunk?
"I could teach a bird to fly higher, a fish to swim faster, and a lady to… drink better?" I scratch my chin and shrug. "I could definitely teach you to pick the best tea, that's for sure."
"A peasant, teaching me about tea?" The girl seems to be bristling now.
Wait, are ladies actually this passionate about tea?
Having grown in a mining town, no one really drank tea. Beer, sure. Wine, sometimes. Dirt water, as much as you want! Tea? Too expensive for anyone to waste money on.
"I, J… J…" I stutter, realizing I better not give my real name and I suddenly have a stroke of genius. "Bocaj Duolc, have peerless mastery in too many domains! My arrogance was struck down and tempered by my master, who ordered me to be humble, level up and finally gain a class only when my education had been concluded. Now, I shall embark on the path of a Knight and be a peerless defender of justice, incredible earner of money, and seducer of—Skills!"
The girl still looks unconvinced, but Greyson narrows his eyes at me and nods.
"I'll grant you passage if what you're saying is true, young man. But you better not be pulling a fast one here. If you have some swindling Skill, let it be known that the last pickpocket who tried me lost both his hands."
"A little bit of faith here, heh?" I lament. "Just show me a Skill. Whatever. But I'm doing this only once."
"This is a waste of time, Greyson," the girl sighs. "He's a useless beggar, clearly."
Greyson nods and taps his armor.
The plates suddenly flash green.
"Why are you entertaining this dunce?"
Silently, I activate The Grimoire Extraoirdinaire and hear a sound in my head.
Grimoire Extraordinaire: Titan's Armor Lv. 32 (Lower True Diamond) contains 11 distinct flaws.
Holy shit, this is a True Diamond Skill! I have no idea what the "Lower" stands for but… holy shit!
"Well," I say, coughing a few times since I almost choked on my own spit, "Titan's Armor. Lower True Diamond, impressive, impressive. You must be a powerful Knight."
The Greyson fella actually looks surprised.
"Greyson, is he right? Is that your Skill?" The girl asks from behind.
"He's correct, milady."
"Well, that must have been a fluke," she scoffs. "He probably saw it somewhere and just knew that."
"You dare question my judgment, J—Bocaj…" I run my last name back to front again in my head before spelling my new pseudonym, "Doo… Duolc?"
"Is he having a stroke?" The girl sighs. "Greyson, please, hurry up. I just remembered another shortcut."
For some reason, I see the giant, intimidating guard, shivering.
The driver of the carriage, who's been silent so far, puts his face in his hands and cries silently.
What's happening? Whatever, let me do this so I can stop booting through this stupid mud. I really need a bath.
"So, I'm waiting," Greyson says.
I read through the flaws enumerated by The Grimoire Extraordinaire and nod when I find one that seems easy enough to fix.
Challeling the Mana from the wrong vein group has created imperfections in the coating of the Skill.
Recommended vein group — Start from Lighting Cloud: the veins in the pinky and half of the ring finger on the pinky's side. Proceed to the Heart Veins and return to the rest of the fingers. Stop initiating the Skill from the Heart Veins.
Recommended hands: both hand.
"You're channeling your Mana from the center to the extremities. This, while common," I say, making a few details up, "is actually extremely detrimental tot he Skill."
I come close to Greyson and say, "may I?"
He nods and, with The Grimoire Extraordinaire's active, superimposed over my view, I slowly jam a finger in a very specific spot over this guy's liver. Suddenly, the Skill distorts and ripples. The flow of Mana is momentarily disturbed.
"If I had done this with a Skill—I mean, if I was your level, I could have pierced your armor like butter on a sunny day, my friend. Now, weave the Skill from the pinky and the half of the ring finger on the pinky's side. On both sides at once. Then, go through the Heart Veins and return to the rest of the fingers."
Greyson looks stunned at the fact that the Skill faltered for a moment and then at my instructions.
"Greyson, don't listen to him!" the girl says. "He's an idiot! You're going to hurt yourself!"
"What?" I say.
"Do you know how powerful a True Diamond Skill even is?" She looks at me with her brow furrowed. "A True Diamond Skill channeled through the wrong channels can kill you. Greyson is strong, so he might just hurt himself, but if the veins are incompatible enough, he might cripple himself."
I didn't know that, actually, I think to myself. Thankfully, it all comes from a Rainbow Skill, so I'm confident enough.
"Foolishness," I rant. "Why would I make a mistake? You heard the instructions clearly, my friend. If you choose to listen to your lady, I shall not judge you, but I provided my service already. Will you dishonor me and not hold up your end of the bargain just because you were scared?"
Greyson looks uncertain for a moment then he nods.
"You proved capable so far. I will trust you."
Suddenly, I feel a shift in the energy and then the pale green that had coated his armor disappears—only to reappear at least three shades brighter!
Now, even the girl is silent, not knowing what to say.
"My Skill just gained eleven levels," Greyson says, stunned.
I dust my hands, not affecting the level of mud on them in the least, then I walk past the stunned Knight and lady, entering the carriage with my filthy clothes.
"Well, I guess I earned my ride, then. Let's get cracking, boys, I got levels to earn."