Chương 79: Chapter 050 From The Ashes Of The Hunt, A Blood Mage Rises (Part 1)

While the others drank and discussed the next leg of the hunt, Jack slipped away to the shadow of an oak. Resisting the urge to embrace [Shadow Veil] and melt away into the shadows, he checked his classes and skills list. Both knowing and fearing what it would reveal, he scanned the changes. [Class Screen-Internal View] Class: Apprentice Scribe (50) Compatibility: 71% … Class: Novice Archer (1) Compatibility: 25% … Class: Novice Assassin (0) Compatibility: 58% …

—Assassin's Intuition (1) Class: Novice Blood Mage (0) Compatibility: 83% Novice Primary Skills —Compulsion (0) —Blood Bond (0) —Sense Blood Mage (0) —Harvest Pseudo Skills (0) ——Pseudo Warrior: First Strike (0) ——Pseudo Goblin: Enrage (0) ——Pseudo Rogue: Detect Trap (0) ——Pseudo Warrior: Greatsword Slice (0) ——Pseudo Goblin: Blood Regeneration (0) Despite already knowing… it still made his stomach lurch. How? Blood mage was a forbidden class he didn't choose and didn't want.

"Shit," he whispered.

"The Inquisition." If the inquisitors discovered him, he'd be dragged into a pit and burned. No trial or final words, only certain death.

"How?" he muttered. I didn't touch a Choosing Stone and haven't levelled archery or assassin to twenty-five. It made no sense. Classes didn't appear out of nowhere. To gain a class, one had to first meet certain requirements. Jack had met the conditions for blood mage, but to select the class required choosing it after touching a Choosing Stone.

"This isn't possible," he whispered. He rubbed his eyes and blinked. Still there; level 0. Novice Blood Mage. He concentrated on each of the new skills to get a feel for them. His eyes widened at the first skill. That's how they almost controlled me. Fuck, they used [Compulsion] on me. [Compulsion] did as the name suggested. It pushed the target towards a desired outcome. What's more, it could be used by a group of blood mages.

In Jack's case, they'd been pushing him towards making choices that resulted in him becoming a blood mage, and for him to see the six nobles as trusted friends.

"Bastards," Jack whispered as he moved on to the next skill. [Blood Bond] allowed two or more blood mages to bond, thereby strengthening their magic. He could feel the perfect number in a bond was twelve mages. He shook his head. I'll never us e that skill. [Sense Blood Mages] was a weak sense that allowed blood mages to sense one another at close distances. Shit. That's a problem; any blood mage can detect me if they're close enough.

It was an active skill, so if he walked by a blood mage in the street, he'd be fine unless they activated the skill, and then they'd know Jack was a fellow blood mage. Jack activated [Sense Blood Mages] and felt a small drain on his mana. He didn't sense another blood mage. Hmm… looks like the skill is either too weak or they are too far away. As a level 0 skill, it would be at its lowest power setting. He shrugged, planning to test the skill to find its limits. [Harvest Pseudo Skills] was an interesting skill.

It allowed a blood mage to replicate a skill from any skill holder the blood mage killed while in contact with the target. Jack could already sense that the pseudo skills wouldn't be as powerful as the originals. He shook his head. I already have five of them. He focused on the pseudo warrior [First Strike] skill to get a feel for what it did. A sensation surged through him, an echo of muscle memory not his own. It wasn't a full skill; it felt hollow, like an imprint taken from a corpse.

A weakened version of a warrior's skill… hmm… that's not a bad skill. And then it clicked. The orc warrior, the chanting in the barn, and the same feeling of power at the moment of the orc's death. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Jack concentrated on each of the pseudo skills in turn to get a feel for them.

"I didn't know goblins had skills," he whispered while thinking about the pseudo goblin [Enrage] skill to get a feel for what it did. He frowned at the skill as he considered whether it was a good idea to use a skill that enhanced rage during combat. Feels like it would make me stronger, but at the cost of clarity. Having no frame of reference to compare—goblins didn't share what their skills did with sentient races—he assumed it was a weakened version of a goblin skill.

Must've gained the skill from the goblin in the forest. [Pseudo Rogue: Detect Trap] skill was next. Another weakened skill. That's useful; thanks, rat-face Kyle. He guessed he'd gained the weakened version of a rogue's skill from the rogue adventurer in the forest. It was the first pseudo skill he might use. A rogue's [Detect Trap] skill would, as the name implies, detect traps. Another goblin skill. Must've been the goblin we killed in the dungeon. He concentrated on [Blood Regeneration] and nodded.

That's actually useful. The pseudo goblin skill rapidly regenerated lost blood. Next up, [Pseudo Warrior: Greatsword Slice], he thought.

"Interesting. So another weakened warrior skill." He chuckled at how useless the skill would be for him. He had to be wielding a greatsword to activate the skill. He scratched his chin in thought. Something didn't line up; he'd killed a mage during the drug deal.

"Why no skill from the mage?" He muttered while shivering at the memory. I didn't get the wave of power when the mage died. Jack thought about what was different between the five kills that resulted in pseudo skills and the one that didn't.

"It's the dagger… it has to be." He drew the dagger from his side. It was still the battered dagger he'd bought from the strange weapons merchant. Red tarnished blade, damaged handle, and runes so faded they couldn't be active. He ran his fingers along the edge; still razor sharp.

"You're the link, aren't you?" He thought back to what the merchant had told him. Something about an assassin who hunted blood mages? He didn't recall the details; he wasn't listening at the time. What would happen if I killed a blood mage with you? Jack glanced at the six nobles who were laughing, drinking, and unaware of the threat. What would happen if I drove you into Greaves' throat and twisted? He smiled at the thought. He went back to considering how he'd gained skills.

Only the kills that involved the dagger had gifted him a skill. Well, other than the stag kill, but he assumed a deer wouldn't have any skills. If they did, it would mean he'd get a skill from killing a chicken. He couldn't help but chuckle at what sort of skills a chicken could possibly possess. It wasn't as if chickens had martial prowess. That would be ridiculous. Jack stared at the palm of his right hand. There was a faint scar where the blood-red rose had cut him.

Every time he drew blood using the dagger, it itched. His palm didn't itch when he killed the mage with arrows. Are they linked? Is this why I gained the b lood m age class? He considered his classes again and felt sick. His compatibility with blood mage was higher than with scribe. And even now, he could feel a new thread unwinding inside him, drawing tighter with each kill, each offering of blood.

"I'm a damned blood mage," he muttered as he sheathed his dagger.

"But… I don't have to use it." He was about to rejoin the others, but checked his affinities first. [Affinities Screen-Internal View] Fate 72% Time 62% Blood 56% Void 55% Divine 44% Arcane 43% Chaos 37% Death 34% Light 32% Earth 26% Darkness 25% Sound 21% Healing 21% Psychic 20% Fire 16% Metal 16% Space 15% Ice 14% Luck 14% Air 13% Poison 11% Water 11% Lightning 9% Nature 9% Gravity 3% Jack compared the values to when he last checked them almost a week earlier. Only one had changed. Damn! Blood has shot up…

His mouth dropped open. His affinity for Blood had increased from 19% to 56% in a single week. Could gaining the blood mage class be the cause? It has to be. Shit. Jack watched a bird fly from branch to branch and wished he could be as free. This is not what I want. He exhaled before returning to the group, who were still celebrating the successful hunt with wine and pastries.

"Enjoying a moment of reflection?" asked Baroness Idrisa as he returned to the circle. Jack inclined his head.

"I was just thinking, my lady."

"Good." Greaves lifted his wine glass.

"Reflection is the foundation of our power."

"I understand now, my lord." Jack forced a smile.

"What happened today… what I felt…" He didn't finish the sentence. He let them draw their own conclusions. The nobles smiled. Quill raised her glass.

"To Jack." Greaves echoed her.

"To the one the Fates chose." Jack raised an imaginary glass, though he held nothing. Let them believe I'm one of them. Let them think they've drawn me in. I'll see you all dead. Jack smiled as [Assassin's Intuition] triggered. He turned to the direction of the young nobles, where the skill was triggered. They're going to be a problem.