System Change

“You should leave the room. It’s my turn.” Derek said.

Thomas didn’t argue. He walked across the room, avoiding as much blood as possible. Finally, he made it to the door, opened it, and left.

Derek nodded once Thomas was gone. Looking at Shae, he asked, “What’s your stance on not revealing any information about my skills other than that they are good enough to pass for Onyx?”

Shae frowned but answered. “I like to think everything I see in here is confidential unless the Guild Leader directly asks me about it.” He said, but frowned even deeper. “I won’t lie to you, you’re a mystery, so I wouldn’t doubt the Guild Leader asking me about you.”

Derek’s fingertips stopped glowing blue as his brows furrowed. “No chance of you taking an oath or writing a contract, is there?”

Shae shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“That’s pretty shitty.” Derek said. “How is someone supposed to do this without revealing their best skills? Especially when up against someone like you.”

Shae laughed. “Oh, after that last showing, you’ve definitely passed. Anything else is just entertainment.”

Derek snorted. He’d learned a lot during this test. Like, if Shae had seriously been wanting to kill him, he could have hit Derek in the head or the heart when he activated his last skill. Derek mentally put those at Onyx or above on his ‘kill quickly’ list. Surely, there would be assassins at that rank as well. He’d have to be more careful than he has been.

Savannah was supposed to be safe, but Derek still wasn’t completely sure about that. He would have to make it a point to ask Natalie once he could get a meeting.

Now, the question before him was, ‘should he stop here, or keep going?’ To be honest, Derek wanted to continue. He hadn’t been pushed like this since the first Void Beast he fought after arriving in Cydaria. He thought back to the people who already knew about his abilities. Most of them were under oaths. None of them knew exactly what they were, though. Except for maybe Alanah, and she was not under oath.

“Your Guild Leader.” Derek said, pulling Shae’s attention back to him. “Is he a good person?”

Shae didn’t hesitate even a second before nodding. “He’s a very decent person. He’s top five strongest in the kingdom, so he doesn’t answer to anyone.”

“But will he answer to someone?” Derek asked. “Like the King.”

Shae snorted. “That old fogie? I don’t even answer to him. Sure, he’s also top five in the kingdom and controls a powerful force, but for the last decade, he’s been too hesitant to take any action against anyone at a certain power level.”

Shae continued. “With your skills, it may be good to let some of them be known. Strength is a pretty good way to wash a targe off your back.”

Derek nodded. “Maybe, but I doubt it.”

Shae frowned. “Do you mind telling me who you offended?”

Derek laughed. “It’s not really a secret. I killed Gerald Torith’s son after I found out he was involved with child trafficking. Though I would have killed him either way.” Derek clarified.

Recognition flashed through Shae’s eyes. “That was you?” Then he broke out in laughter. “That man really kicked a hornets’ nest, didn’t he?” Then his tone got serious. “Do you have proof of the child trafficking?”

Derek shook his head. “No. When he admitted it, he broke an oath. Afterwards, I killed him. I don’t even think he actually knew much. Only enough to get sent to that backwater city, and just that there should be no link back to Gerald.”

“That’s a shame. I never liked the guy the few times we met. Always seemed… off to me.” Shae answered. “I don’t do much work in the Capital. I prefer Savannah. Me and Judy have built a pretty good live for ourselves here.”

Derek nodded. By the way they interacted with each other, even though they were pretty formal, he had made that guess.

“Hmm… Pissing off Gerald is definitely not something that some strength would deter. Maybe if you were to meet the Guild Leader and become a Diamond Rank.” Then he shook his head. “No… You’re good, but not Diamond Rank yet.”

Derek made his decision. “Keep everything between us unless specifically asked by your Guild Leader. Sound good?”

Shae’s teeth showed with a feral grin. “That, I can agree to.”

“Have your skills cooled down?” Derek asked.

Shae’s smile got wider. “What cooldown?”

That surprised Derek. As far as he knew, all skills have some sort of cooldown. He was very intrigued about the class the man across from him had.

Derek slipped back into his meditation before the tips of his fingers lit up again. Before making a move, he tossed Shae’s spear back to the man, which he caught and nodded, then cast his skills again, including one he hadn’t previously.

With that, Derek clapped, and the room filled with lightning. The lightning slowed Shae down. Not a lot, but enough. The problem was that Derek couldn’t move quickly when in meditation. So, Derek ended his meditation just before each attack from Shae. This allowed him to dodge some of the blows, and take lesser damage on the ones that connected.

At this point, both men were having tons of fun. Occasionally, a streak of lightning would connect with Shae and cause wherever it hit to become partially paralyzed for a short moment.

“Can you heal through another real attack?” Derek heard the voice come from his side. Derek only smiled.

Apparently, Shae took his smile as a ‘yes.’ Soon, the same glow appeared after the man side stepped a couple streaks of lightning.

Just as the blow was about to connect, Derek stopped all skills and slipped into the void with Void Shift. Everything stopped. When he looked down, the tip of a projected spear was only a few inches from his abdomen, and there were two more lagging just behind. Surprisingly, the projection was still moving closer.

Derek reached for a ripple in the void and pulled himself to the side. The whole time, he was looking at Shae’s face. Surprise couldn’t explain what he saw. Shae’s eyes were slowly following Derek as he moved. The man’s foot even began to pivot to the side that Derek had pulled himself to.

The biggest downside of Void Shift was the fact that Derek couldn’t attack until he ended the skill. However, he had a plan for this occasion.

Derek reached out and grabbed the man’s spear just above his own hands. He channeled what void he could into the blunt end and came out of the void. With a light glow on the butt of the spear, he pushed forward, and it lightly connected to Shae’s abdomen. A kidney for a kidney. Derek thought.

Derek had suspected that the man’s skill that skewered him before was a projected skill because of the speed at which all three attacks hit him. He was correct. When Derek grabbed the shaft of the spear, the man had already begun withdrawing it. All Derek had to do was give it a little force to make it connect.

As the tap of the spear connected, Shae looked at Derek in shock. Then, he raised his foot to take a step, then vomited a mouthful of blood. His eyes opened even wider as he stared Derek down. Derek still had the same smile on his face.

With the way Derek used his skills, there was no real way for Shae to figure out what happened. Sure, he was able to track Derek’s movement while he was in the void, but Derek didn’t believe the man had even seen the glow at the butt of the spear because he was too busy staring at Derek’s body.

“What was that?” The man finally broke the silence.

“That was for me to know.” Derek answered.

“My kidney is gone, and I have damage in my stomach.” Shae said as a red vial appeared in his hand and he drank it. “Was that as hard as whatever skill you just used can hit?”

Derek shrugged. “What do you think?”

“I doubt i…” Shae stopped as his eyes brightened in remembrance. “When you hit me on the chest at the beginning?”

Derek chucked and bobbed his head in confirmation. “Can you survive without a heart?”

Shae frowned. “Maybe.” He said, to Derek’s surprise. “You have to have high Endurance to move as quickly as I do.” Shae answered Derek’s unasked question. “And you don’t get very far without at least some Vitality.”

“I see.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t know. Never lost my heart before. At least now I know that I can survive a kidney exploding after some minor lightning damage.” Shae chuckled.

“That liver shot earlier was brutal.” Derek said. “Did more damage than the first two strikes together.”

“At least you took some damage.” Shae laughed. “I think that’s enough to confirm your Onyx Rank. I’m not sure about Diamond, and I’m not even going to ask you where you went for that split second.”

“Wait, what?” Derek asked. “What do you mean, ‘where I went?’” He asked.

Shae frowned. “You disappeared.”

“But you were tracking me.” Derek argued.

“I was tracking whatever ripple you were making.”

That was something new he learned about his skill. When he used Void Shift, he actually disappeared into the void. That was useful knowledge. “You’re the first person to track me. It was surprising. I hope you can keep those last skills to yourself the best you can.”

“I already said I would, and I’m a man of my word.” Shae held his hand out, and Derek accepted it.

“Now, let’s go get you a badge.” Shae said. “After that, I need a drink, too. What do you think?”

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