Chương 52: Chapter 51

I smiled to myself as I lay there in the darkness. It had all been worth it. I had improved my Shadow Affinity by far more than I could have hoped, the remnants of the demon prince's mark on my soul now fully integrated and a huge amount of the potion's contents following in its wake. The Achievement was in some ways even better, though the wording left me strangely curious. The mention of a mutated Path could only refer to my Path of Soulstealing.

I was a little annoyed that I couldn't advance it with an Achievement like this and potential reasons for the restriction were polluting my brain with distractions so I decided to focus on that issue tomorrow. For now, I had a simple choice to make. The reward was enough to advance my Path of the Completionist or Path of Exceptionalism to the next Tier. Decision paralysis was not a problem in this case though, and I quickly selected my Elite Path. A new notification appeared.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Exceptionalism II (108/100) Reward: Evolve Talented Attribute to Gifted Attribute. I opened my Status.

Name - Sebastian Skills (3/4) Class - Locked Muffled Steps (Minor) - 25 Controlled Grip (Lesser) - 3 Basic Attributes Strength - 122 Body Features Stamina - 129 Aether Core - Minor Coordination - 135 Aether Channels - Weak Mental - 155 Aether - 107 Affinity (1/1) Shadow (Potent) - 113 Advanced Attributes (1/2) Gifted - 150 Paths (10/10) Dormant Paths (3) Path of Exceptionalism II (108/500) Path of Coordination VI Path of Running VIII (4002/5000) Path of Infiltration I Path of Balance VIII (3379/5000) Path of Hatchets IV Path of Body Strengthening VII (2455/2500) Path of Aethersensing VII (1381/2500) Path of Swordplay VII (1264/2500) Path of Deception VIII (3878/5000) Path of Brewing III (97/100) Path of the Completionist II (145/200) Path of Soulstealing (4/10) The changes were few but they were more than enough to make me happy.

The reward had been influenced by my Talented attribute, adding an extra three steps which didn't amount to much yet but might in the future. Shadow now read as Potent and looked like it already had some progress towards the next Tier. That improvement alone would make advancing my Path of Infiltration that much easier. In fact, depending on how powerful my newly evolved Gifted attribute was, I might even be able to progress Path of Infiltration to the next Tier while remaining in the mountains.

I resolved to test it at least. My aether core still read as Minor, but I would solve that problem eventually. Tonight had just been another step towards that goal. It also wasn't the only notification I had gotten as I glanced at the second with a smile. Path Unlocked! Path of Aether Manipulation (0/10) With the poison no longer running through my veins, I couldn't even sense my aether core now let alone begin to try and manipulate the aether within.

But at the very least, the moment I could sense it with some regularity, I already had the Path unlocked to try and start manipulating it. That was enough, for now. I slowly climbed to my feet, the chilly air starting to get to me as it cooled the sweat I was drenched in. Scooping some dirt up I covered up the vomit and left it where it was. Maybe that was mean of me, but the prospectors were still pretty high on my list of nemesis and I didn't really care about stinking their place up a bit.

Assuming some animal didn't come along and eat it. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Would they get a secondary effect from eating Shadow Affinity potion vomit? I wondered. A question for Magatha, I decided, before being forced to use Controlled Grip to lever myself back out the window as my body protested against the movement. I stumbled back across the road tiredly, my body and mind exhausted from my ordeal.

The patter of feet approaching led me to raise my head enough to see my mother running towards me. Then the night sky lit up with a line of fire that I could trace back to Gramps and I wrenched my head upwards only to see a dark shadow twice my size veer away at the last moment, utterly silent as it climbed back into the night sky. I was already running the moment I had noticed the grimfaced owl thanks to Gramps' fireworks display.

The beast vanished against the dark backdrop of the night sky as my mother met me halfway across the road, scooping me up and darting back to the safety of our outpost. We blew through the entryway like a gust of wind, Gramps stepping to the side to shepherd us in before he slammed the door closed behind us. The bang of wood dropping echoed after us as the jamb fell into place, locking us in and any other beasties trying to feast on child flesh out.

Mother slumped down by the fire, her hair a mess and worry plain to see in her bright blue eyes. She held me close, and I snuggled into her warmth both to fight away the chill and to calm myself after almost being attacked by a second bird. This shit was going to give me a complex! Gramps casually strode over to join us as though he hadn't just launched a line of flame at a predator almost as big as he was.

"You're covered in sweat, darling," Mum muttered, the same worry that tinged her eyes colouring her voice.

"Magatha said it shouldn't take that long."

"How long was I gone?" I asked, trying to sound more calm than I felt.

"Half a candle," Gramps answered as he sat himself down across from us, pulling his pipe from his jacket and placing it in his mouth, as yet unlit. Half a candle? That's almost an hour. It didn't feel like that long! I thought.

"I didn't really notice," I admitted.

"I was just focused on getting the most out of the potion!"

"And it went well?" Mum asked. I grinned at her, intentionally focusing on her and not Gramps because I knew it would drive him crazy. One day teasing him like this would get old, but not today.

"I got an Achievement!" I said excitedly.

"For what?" Gramps asked, leaning forward as his brows drew down in confusion. I smiled placidly, staring at Mum who sighed good naturedly.

"For what, my little man?"

"For improving my Shadow Affinity from Strong to Potent!" Mother's eyes went wide, but her reaction paled in comparison to Gramps as I watched his treasured pipe slip from his lips and plummet to the rug below. You could've heard a pin drop in the room, or in this case the gentle rustle of a wooden pipe bouncing on silky fur.

"That shouldn't be possible," Gramps muttered as he scooped up his pipe and lit it with magic. I sensed the aether he used, and my grin got even bigger. Surprisingly Mother didn't chide Gramps for smoking in my presence. Gramps started muttering quietly to himself.

"Unless your affinity was already so strong that it was on the verge of improving… but no… you said it had the number one-hundred next to it. So it can't be that… I… I'm at a loss." I could tell it was vexing Gramps, and I suppose in a way I wanted to distract him before he started asking questions that I was still not ready to answer. So, I piped up with my second piece of news.

"Yeah! The Achievement let me add steps to one of my other Paths! So, I got to the next Tier in the Path of Exceptionalism!" Mum looked both proud and pleased with my statement. I was her darling boy, and I had just taken the next step forward. She was as excited for me as I was. Gramps, on the other hand, looked like he had a headache coming on as he rubbed his forehead with two strong fingers and inhaled from his pipe.

The smoke seemed to calm him slightly as he blew a ring into the air above him and looked at the ceiling.

"Just so I know you're telling me the truth, what's your new Advanced Attribute called?" he asked.

"Gifted," I stated.

"I was a little worried that my numbers would go down when it evolved, but that didn't happen!" Gramps sighed, though he was smiling as he did so. Sitting back down in his chair, he took another puff of his pipe.

"Gifted… you'll have to tell me how much of a difference it makes."

"You don't know?" I asked in confusion. I was used to Gramps having an answer for almost everything, though I suppose this particular Path was far from a common one by his own words.

"No. I know it will improve how fast you progress on your Paths, but not by how much."

"Oh, well, Talented was a twenty percent improvement before I put my Unallocated Stats into it," I admitted.

"How could you know that?" Gramps asked, leaning forward in his chair as Mum shifted me on her lap.

"I got another Achievement back then and I worked it out because the Achievement told me I would get one hundred steps added but instead I got one hundred and twenty!" I explained. My Path of Deception ticked up at the lie. It had been a thousand steps but I wasn't about to explain to my Mother and Grandfather that I remembered having my throat nicked by a blade as a babe and almost dying.

"Huh," Gramps commented, leaning back in his chair.

"I'll have to make a note of it."

"Is that what you write about in your office?" I asked, changing the subject yet again with the exuberance and attention span of a four year old who had just survived multiple near-death encounters. Just one more reminder of what a weird little kid I was.

"Sort of," he admitted.

"I write to advance some of my own Paths by noting down my knowledge about Paths, Fire Magic, and other things. It's one of the few things that progresses my Class Path, albeit slowly."

"What is your Class Path?" Gramps looked at me for a long moment before answering, only the crackling fire and the gentle creak of wood to fill the silence.

"Magus of the Flame. It is an Advanced Class Path that focuses on wielding Fire Magic with a subspeciality in teaching magic."

"Sounds like an amazing Class Path," I said agreeably to which both Mother and Gramps grinned.

"What about you, Mum?"

"Novice Administrator," she admitted.

"It's an Adept Class Path that I am only at the second Tier in. Like your grandfather's, it doesn't get a lot of use out here in the mountains. There is only so much administration required for our lonely little outpost." I nodded, feeling a little sad at their words. They were my family, and it sounded like the punishment of being sent to the ass-end of nowhere was really stifling their growth. For someone like me, who prized progress so highly, seeing them restricted like this was depressing.

It was also a warning I took to heart. I would not pick a Class Path whose growth options were too limited or stringent. I already have one such Path and have no intention of adding a second, I thought with a glance at my Path of Soulstealing.

"Come on then," Mother admonished, helping me off her lap.

"It's time for bed and you need another wash, because I will not have you climbing beneath your clean furs while covered in sweat." True to her words, and with Gramps' help, some water was quickly heated. I gave myself a quick scrub with a rag, letting the warm water clean away the layer of sticky sweat clinging to my skin. My hair was matted to my head and needed to be washed as well.

When I was done the water hadn't taken on a dirty sheen, but I certainly felt far less sticky as I was tucked into bed with a kiss placed on my forehead.

"I'm proud of you, my little man," Mother whispered as she stood.

"Just, don't grow up too quick, alright?"

"I won't," I promised, my Path of Deception ticking up and leaving me frowning into my pillow. In the morning, I decided, I would see how long it took me to earn another step in my Path of Running and then the next one after that. With that information I figured I should be able to determine exactly how much my Gifted attribute was improving progress on my Paths.

I drifted off dreaming of a pure black sphere hovering in the sky over a field of pale purple grass upon which predators wreathed in shadow bayed and howled for blood. It should have been a nightmare, but I felt no fear. For I knew that no matter how loud they roared, they couldn't find me. This was a world of shadows, and in this place, I was royalty.