Thankfully he was sitting in the far back of the wagon and the driver hadn't heard the ruckus. After restoring the inside of the wagon to its previous state, Goldie gazed at the detailed descriptions of his newly gotten skills.

Meditation Lvl 1: Reflects ability to control your focus and engage in contemplative thought. Skill dependent on Lvl and Insight.

Anima Sense Lvl 25: Increases your Perception multiplier by 10%. Reflects ability to sense and distinguish different forms of anima. Passively increases effect of Perception when sensing anima within yourself. Skill dependent on Lvl, Perception and Insight.

Empower Lvl 3: Activate to enhance portions of your body. Enhanced body parts' physical attributes are multiplicatively improved. Power of enhancement dependent on amount of Energy invested. Skill efficiency dependent on Lvl.

Warning: High level of Constitution required to contain high levels of Energy without self harm.

Rapid Replenishment Lvl 4: By concentrating on the connection between body and soul, you multiply the regeneration of all stats by 312%. Skill dependent on Lvl and Willpower.

Telekinetic Push Lvl 1: Activate to transform your Willpower into a blast of physical force. Costs 20 Energy per activation. Skill dependent on Lvl, Strength and Willpower.

He was baffled. All these skills, except Meditation, seemed incredibly valuable. He shot a telepathic message to Xander, asking him if he'd heard of any of them before.

Yeah, Empower is the bread and butter of augmentation magic, basically any kind of magic that directly infuses energy into an object, or your own body, to enhance it in some way. It's what I would have taught you about once we got to the city, but I guess that doesn't matter now. There are a bunch of branching skills, but you'll need to be a lot more proficient, so you don't risk any backlash.

Telekinesis on the other hand I know barely anything about. You either intrinsically know how to use it, or you don't.

Dandy. Is there anything you can teach me right now?

Well, no. Anything I could teach, like Shadow Bolt, Veil of Shadow and Blind, you won't be able to learn. At least not yet.

Goldie quickly paged through his booklet and wrote down a reminder to ask Xander about teaching him the named skills at a later date.

Gods this isn't what I signed up for...

Goldie smirked. What did you sign up for then?

Uhh revenge or something? I mean, technically, I didn't sign a thing.

I did ask you to help me, and teaching me things counts as help.

Fine, you have a point. I guess I should be happy about being upgraded from 'living encyclopedia' to 'teacher'.

Goldie couldn't suppress the urge to laugh at that comment. I think your knowledge is far too spotty to measure up to an actual encyclopedia.

Why do you keep using me as one then?

You're all that's readily available to me.

Maybe our first visit should be a library then.

But that's not very interesting.

So? It's convenient.

Yeah but it isn't fun. Nothing compares to firsthand experience, and I think we need to be more efficient with our time than reading books for hours at end. Not to mention any specialized books will probably gloss over all things classified as 'common knowledge', a type of knowledge I sorely lack.

Okay boss, you're still in control of your body so it isn't like I can force you or anything. But keep in mind that whenever you ask me something I don't know, I'll remind you that libraries are a thing that exists.

Maybe I should publish a book. 'An outsider's view on the Interface and all its wonders', maybe a way to make my lost money back...

I'm getting off topic, is there anything I need to know about my remaining abilities?

*Sigh*

The other skills are also fairly well known. Anima Sense can further your understanding of the world, but other than that has no real practical benefits. I wouldn't really say it's worth investing a lot of time in, especially since as far as I've heard it takes ages to level.

Rapid Replenishment on the other hand... Well, I have heard of, and possess, an ability called 'Replenishment'. It does the same thing, only a lot less... intensely. Definitely worth investing time into, especially since it isn't like you have much else to do when your Energy gets low.

That was certainly interesting. It seemed like his affinity to sense the powers he never had in his earlier life had improved them somehow aside from the ascendant path increasing his learning speed.

Thanks for the insight.

Through all these skills he now had a whopping 39 points to spend.

Open Paths (39p) Intermediate 0/20, Unshackled 0/??, Soul-thief 0/???; Current Paths -- Completed Paths Apprentice (Agility), Ascendant, Newbie, Shadow Walker; Gained Benefits +1 Agility per 5 levels, +10% Anima gain, +10% Agility;

Finishing the Ascendant Path had regrettably not unlocked another one for him to invest in. The intermediate path seemed like a safe choice and considering he had more than enough points to finish it would likely benefit him greatly in the short term. The other two sounded quite ominous and Goldie still couldn't see how many points were required to complete them. Therefore, he decided to start with investing 20 points into Intermediate.

You have earned 1 Physical attribute point.

You have earned 1 Mental attribute point.

You have earned 1 Special attribute point.

There comes a time when everyone must choose not only what path to tread, but also what method of travel they prefer.

Decide what stat you would like to focus on!

Without a second thought, Goldie chose Willpower.

Some people say a strong body is needed to advance. Others believe one's mental capabilities are the most important. You have concluded the only true way forward is through sheer force of will, never allowing yourself to be pushed astray.

+1 Willpower.

+1 Willpower.

+1 Willpower.

Congratulations, you have completed the Intermediate path!

+2 Willpower.

You have now recognized your favored form of advancement. Concentrate on honing this method and you will succeed!

Goldie had determined that the question marks represented how many digits of points the path required, and therefore decided to spend his remaining points on the Unshackled path.

You have spent nearly your entire life beneath someone else's heel.

He received no other benefits after that gloomy message. The amount of points he needed to complete the path were revealed to be 75.

Oh well, it might still give me something amazing when I complete it.

He went over his status screen and invested the three distributable points he had received before. Instead of going for Agility, he opted to increase his Constitution to more safely use Empower. The other two points went into Intelligence and Willpower. After completing those changes he marveled at his upgrades. His Willpower now even exceeded his Agility.

General Information Attributes

Name Xandon Jefferite Physical Mental Special Species Human STR 9 INT 8

CHR 7 Sex Male AGI 20,6 PER 4,6 INS 5,6 Age 33 years CON 10 MEM 8 WLL 21,1

Height 5"7 ft (1,75m) Stats Weight 85 kilograms Health 73,4 +9,3/h Level 10 (max 35) Energy 71,5 +25,9/h Bonuses +1 Agility per 5 levels; +10% Agility; +10% Willpower, +10% Perception;

Stamina 66,2 +11,3/min

Goldie noticed his attributes were becoming quite bloated for his current level. In courtesy of his heightened Intelligence, he calculated that he was only capable of safely raising them by another five points.

He needed to level up as soon as he could, and speaking of which how would he go about it?

So uh, you never really explained how I increase my level, as in the level. Seems like it might be an important piece of information.

Ah, of course. Well it isn't that important. Not like our entire plan hinges upon it or anything. *ahem*

Usually you gain a little bit of anima over time. You know, from the environment and the food you eat. But that's a very slow process, if we want to power you up quickly, you're gonna have to go hunting.

What do you mean 'hunting'? Does fresher food yield better results?

You could say that... But, well, it's less about the eating part, and more about the killing. A lot of anima vacates a creature's body as it dies, and if you're close enough to it, your body naturally absorbs some. Also the more powerful creatures give greater earnings. So when I say 'hunt' I mean you should go and kill monsters if you want to level up quickly.

That idea made Goldie very nervous. He had never killed anything before... except Xander. He didn't count that since he was not in a very rational state of mind. More importantly than that, never in his life had he been in a single fight.

I don't know the first thing about battle! And now you're telling me I need to go out and hunt monsters of all things!?

Yeah? I mean there is always another option...

Anything would be better than risking life and limb fighting ferocious beasts.

Uhh, don't be too sure. I mean I had no qualms about it but...

Goldie's eyes narrowed at that. What exactly are you implying here?

You know how I said I'm a very sneaky person? There are many things one can do with such a talent, some more reputable than others.

So like espionage? I don't see how that will be very helpful.

That too, but uh.. I was talking more along the lines of assassination?

"WHAT!?"

SHH! Now I know it sounds bad, but it's actually less frowned upon than theft you know? As long as I don't rob my victims after killing them of course.

How can that be less frowned upon!?

Isn't it obvious? I guess it's just your lack of common sense, but theft means a permanent loss of items. Murder isn't permanent at all. Sure you might lose a few levels, and some skills might decay a bit, but all in all it's not too terrible.

What do you mean 'not too terrible'!? It's murder for Ayal's sake! If murder is treated so casually, then what kind of crimes are unforgiveable?

Anything with lasting damage, especially psychological. Torture and rape are the worst of the bunch. Of course physical harm still isn't something socially acceptable, but it mostly gets tolerated since everybody heals so quickly.

But murder, even if not permanent, can absolutely cause lasting psychological damage!

What are you talking about? I revived for the first time in preschool!

What the fiery hells!? Why would you have died when you were little!?

Everybody dies a few times when they're younger! It's a normal part of growing up, the ideal time to get used to it, especially because you don't lose any levels if you're already at the lowest!

But it's death! I mean, how could you make a child go through such a thing? It's still extremely painful isn't it?

You kidding me? They'd obviously not choose a painful way to kill us! They just flooded our classroom with gas and we slowly fell asleep!

That is so...

Goldie could hardly find the words.

So unbelievably fucking messed up!

Picturing an entire classroom of children slowly perishing drove a shudder down Goldie's spine. He anxiously paced around the wagon unsure of what to say. A deep-seated sense of wrongness overcame him, never before had he felt so profoundly uncomfortable. The intensity reminded him of anger, only instead of wanting to punch the wall, he felt like throwing up.

And you're telling me people are okay with this!?

Of course they are! It's not like it has any negative long-term effects. Even when I assassinate someone it's only a lesser crime. I mean as long as I don't mess it up, they die almost instantly!

Do you mean to tell me that murder is legal then?

No... you still cause people some harm. I mean, nobody wants to lose their levels and reviving fully naked is pretty embarrassing.

So you're still a criminal!

Yeah, but you already knew that. I'll have you know I don't do crimes out of personal gain. Well, that's not quite true since I get paid, however, what you should really be angry about is the amount of people willing to pay someone to assassinate or rob people!

I don't care if people pay you! You are still committing a crime! No matter how little a crime it is and no matter what reason you have, unlawful acts remain unlawful.

I will not be convinced to break the law just because it's easier to kill a person than to kill a monster. I don't care if you think it's a 'lesser crime'. To me it is morally unjustifiable.

Look, I told you you'd probably have your issues with such a method. You want to gain levels? Anima doesn't just fall from trees. Either you take it from people, or you take it from other animals.

It was you who told me that anything would be better than fighting monsters.

Okay you made your point, monsters it is. That still leaves the question of how the hells I'm supposed to learn to fight!

You have that memory stealing ability of yours, don't you? With that enchantable dagger, you may as well learn to use it.

He still wasn't sure about flooding his mind with another person's memories, but conventionally learning how to wield a weapon would take far too long and probably cost loads of money.

Okay but try to cut down on the unnecessary memories this time. No repeats of 'climbing through the changing room window'.

I kinda just offer them up and you suck them away, so no guarantees they're all useful.

Goldie frowned, but proceeded anyway. He channeled his focus to try and remember the feeling of when he first activated Memory Sap. The first time was mostly instinctual, and so he was unable to replicate it straight away. Goldie commanded Xander to telepathically yell at him to use the dagger. He thought perhaps recreating the earlier circumstances would make activating the ability easier.

As the message came in, he noted that establishing a telepathic link seemed to be a requirement to utilizing the ability, for shortly after the memories came flooding in. Most of them involved murder, lots and lots of murder. The sheer number of times that Xander had stabbed a fellow human being was astounding. Goldie's mind could hardly cope with the influx of information. These moments and memories now felt like his own, a part of his personal past, and even though a portion of him knew he never really partook in any of the heinous acts, it still felt like he had.

Goldie's heart rate rose and he felt pain in his chest. He felt dizzy, like he was about to pass out. He could barely breathe and it seemed like he was completely losing control of his trembling body. His skin was burning and his knees were weak as he walked to the back of the wagon.

After he emptied is stomach's contents over the road, he returned to his earlier spot. His body seemed further and further away. Every part of himself felt numb and he was gripped by terror.

"Get a grip Goldie!", he muttered aloud.

He knew none of these memories were his, he merely needed to learn to use a dagger. He sifted through all the new information, picking out the tidbits he actually needed and suppressing everything else. Over time he started calming down and felt much more like himself again. He took hold of his body, switching between flexing and relaxing his muscles. After having completely straightened out his thoughts he fell asleep.

He was back in his old home and lying in his bed. Not quite in it, but instead floating above his own body. He couldn't move it or anything else in the room. As he looked down on himself, he noticed his hair color and body shape were changing from his old self to his current self. The unmoving figure became taller and some strands of his hair became black. Yet, even after the transformation progressed past how far it had gone in the real world, it did not stop. His extremities lengthened to an inhuman degree and his face narrowed. Just as his hair color turned pitch black, the monster's eyes and mouth opened to reveal an empty black void that sucked Goldie's consciousness into it.

He awoke with his clothes drenched in sweat. He suppressed the memory of his nightmare and opened his eyes to finally check his status messages.

[Standard skill Acquired: Dagger Mastery Lvl 21] [Standard skill Acquired: Assassination Lvl 15]

Memory Sap (U) has risen from Lvl 1 to Lvl 5!

Indomitable Will has risen from Lvl 8 to Lvl 12!

Assassination?

It made sense to have gained that skill, considering that's what Xander had mostly used his daggers for. He didn't mind the extra path points. However, suddenly knowing how to most effectively murder a person was very unnerving.

Well, that was very effective I'd say. You haven't quite reached my level, but I guess having purely theoretical practice isn't good enough. We should repeat this for other skills as well, that way you could become the ultimate jack of all trades!

I will definitely not repeat this. It was horrifying. If I ever decide to instantly learn something this way again, please warn me about how many terrible things you did with it.

You have to use it to train it man. I'd say if you want to quickly power up this is the best method.

I'll wait for a higher Willpower stat. And to increase it I will need to level a bunch. I'm getting dangerously close to oversaturating my Attributes.

I forgot to mention this earlier, but if you want to go hunt monsters, you should probably try to join the adventurer's guild. That way you'll earn money for any kills you get.

I'm all for efficiency my friend, what do I need to do for that?

I'll guide you through the process after we arrive, which should be sometime this evening if my memory serves me right.

Goldie's clock already displayed 6:17 and there was no city on the horizon. He figured 'sometime this evening' must have meant 'sometime before midnight'.

Not wishing to waste time, Goldie spent the rest of the trip alternating between Empower and Rapid Replenishment, grinding both of them up to Lvl 8 and 10 respectively. It wasn't until around 10 that one could see the tall buildings of Siellous on the horizon. After so much talk of leveling and hunting, all he really wanted to do was eat a nice hot meal and sleep in a comfortable bed.

Adventuring would have to wait until tomorrow.