The next few days were a combination of learning, working, and eating, with moments of sleeping in between. Despite the echo’s insistence, Dallion didn’t set foot outside the inn, choosing to read and train in the library until hungry and exhausted, then sleep until his work shift. In many regards, Dallion was like a student cramming for exams. The good news was that he had finally obtained enough information to determine his “way of development”.

According to the scroll Nil had given him, all skills in this world were collected in twelve groups. When learned, each group provided the instructions on how to advance the skills in the form of awakened markers, as well as specific bonuses should a sequence of markers be followed correctly. Additionally, the skills were divided into four categories in terms of statistical rarity. Guard, attack, athletics, and acrobatics were considered being the most common of all skills. Apparently, nine out of ten awakened started with one of them, and were almost certain to obtain them later in life if they didn’t.

Interestingly enough, athletics included a whole range of skills Dallion would never have put in one group, despite there being a certain logic to it. In general, every sport related skill, other than acrobatics, was considered part of athletics, namely: climbing, swimming, throwing, lifting and so on. Meanwhile, jumping, balance, gymnastics, and everything flexibility related seemed to fall under acrobatics. Given an opportunity Dallion would definitely have loved to acquire either of the two skills, especially athletics—maybe that way he’d finally stop being afraid of swimming.

The second category of skills were considered the crafter skills: forging, carving, art, and writing, they were guaranteed to provide a comfortable life to anyone who had them. Even outside a guild, any awakened using these skills could find employment at a noble’s estate or in one of the more prosperous merchant unions. The funny thing was that none of the skill groups were very true to their skill name. Forging meant all manner of metalwork, yet at the same time included jewelry and glassworks. Carving was also linked to all sorts of woodwork, as well as sculpting. However, it was art and writing that took the cake in terms of weird logic.

Art, the skill Jiroh’s gorgon friend had, included drawing, but for the most part focused on weaving, leatherwork, and everything else that had something to do with clothes. Whoever had come up with the skill’s name must have hated clothes a lot since they chose the single non-tailor-like skill to give the group its name.

And finally, there was “writing.” Dallion had guessed correctly that the skill included arithmetic and geometry, apart from the actual writing. What he couldn’t have guessed is that the skill allowed awakened to pick up and learn languages quickly. An awakened with a high level of writing could in the very real sense know all known languages and switch between them with ease. According to the scroll, the skill was also the perfect counter against music influences. While music skills attempted to sway and manipulate people based on their emotions, writing—through its logic of letters and numbers—counteracted that effect. That was quite good to know, especially given how much Dallion had started to rely on his music skills in battle.

The last four of the twelve skills were referred to as the rare skills. They were by far more difficult to master, but offered great power to those that did. The music skills Dallion’s mother had given him were among those skills. With enough training, Dallion could become able to influence people, as well as objects, by playing any instrument, or even singing. As for the remaining three skills in this category, they remained hidden.

Dallion already knew that spellcraft was among the skills. It being strictly linked to the lost attribute of magic; it made sense why it too would be hidden from the eyes of those who didn’t possess it. That still left two skills about which Dallion remained clueless. The library echo hadn’t proven to be of much help either, merely explaining that they would become revealed “when the time is right, if at all.”

However, the most fascinating thing about the awakened skills wasn’t what they individually offered. Their greatest advantage was that they could be combined to create entirely new aspects of themselves. The harpsisword was a perfect such example. Created to make use of three skills, it allowed its owners to attack and defend themselves through music. At present Dallion was only able to use one aspect of the weapon at a time, but as he had seen from the copyette, it was possible to use more.

“Are you sure there’s no way I could learn about the missing skills?” Dallion asked. “I know that spellcraft exists, even if the scroll doesn’t show it to me.”

“What you know is just a word,” the echo replied. “I’m sure you know the names of the other two skills as well, but never thought of them as such. Until you do, they will remain a mystery. Also, sometimes it’s better not to meddle with things you don’t know.”

“You were the one who gave me this to read, remember?” Dallion felt slightly annoyed.

“The only way you could even theoretically obtain any of the last two skills, is to have the lost attribute and since you don’t, knowing about them is pointless.” Nil crossed his arms. “Maybe focus a bit more on what you have, instead of nitpicking all the time.”

The echo had a point. In truth, it was Dallion’s sense of curiosity that made him want to know about them. That way at least he would know the full set and not have to guess. That aside, he had a tough choice deciding what skills to take should the opportunity arise. According to the scroll, nearly all awakened got to learn four skills during their life, often more. If Dallion was to get the option, he wasn’t sure what he’d choose. Both athletics and acrobatics were going to boost his attack and defense capabilities tremendously; at the same time, any of the forging skills would allow him to craft his own weapons and gear. Last, but not least, being able to understand every language was a childhood dream of Dallion’s… even if, so far, he had only come across a single language in this world.

“So, what would you suggest?” Dallion asked.

“You want me to tell you what skills to go after?” The echo arched a brow. “Even if that is determined purely based on your personal development and is a choice that would influence the direction of your destiny?” He paused for several seconds to drive the point through. “If that were the case, I suppose I would recommend writing.”

“Because it will allow me to counteract music attacks?” Dallion asked, his voice full of enthusiasm.

“No, because then maybe you’ll finally be able to understand what I’m telling you! The reason you should know more about the skills isn’t to know which one to choose. As an awakened any skill the Seven offer to you should be accepted and treated as a blessing. The reason to let you read the scroll, is because now you might have a better understanding of what to expect out there. This isn’t your village. Here, awakened come with all sorts of powers and, unless they are complete rookies, they’ll keep the information to themselves.”

“Whatever you say, wise old man,” Dallion smirked. “Any other advice you’d like to dispense?”

“Anything else you’d listen to? I told you to go out and about the city to learn what’s going on and make a few friends. Instead, you keep coming back here.”

“I thought I had gaps in my training.”

“You have gaps in your life as well. No matter what level you reach, you’ll never be strong enough to make it alone. Take that from me.”

“Duly noted.” Dallion stood up. “I guess I’ll start reading about the skills I have next.”

“That might be a good idea. I’d also recommend learning how to use a dartbow adequately. Then again, I believe I’ve already said that before.”

“Of course, you did,” Dallion laughed. “Catch you later.” He returned to the real world.

With a stretch, Dallion stood up from his bed. For some reason, his body felt stiff. He had done his best to minimize the impact from skipping realms, and yet that still hadn’t helped much. Apparently, there were only so many days he could remain in the library at a time.

Maybe Nil is right, Dallion thought. Maybe I do need to get out more.

Since he had finished work until evening he could do that as well. With the money that he had earned the last few days, he could finally buy some proper clothes, as well as pay off Eury for his shoes, and maybe something more that would catch his fancy. Hannah had warned him not to be too careless with his money, since the mending and improvement requests were bound to shrink with time. Even so, after all that work and studying, it was time to have a little fun.

Leaving the harpsisword in his room, Dallion ran down the staircase and left the inn. The streets were packed at this time of day. It was utterly amazing how so many people in the city actually held. Enjoying the hustle and bustle, Dallion made his way to the central market area of the city. On the way, he decided to pass by Taem’s shop to see how he was doing and probably buy a pair of daggers. As he soon found out, though, the forger’s shop was no more.

“And you’re sure this has always been your shop?” Dallion asked for the third time.

The confused proprietor could only nod.

“And you don’t know anything about an awakened being here?”

“This is just a small workshop I rent out now and again,” the man said. “I’d have noticed if an awakened came to stay here. If that were true, I’d be able to charge extra.”

Peculiar indeed. Dallion was certain this was the place from where he had gotten the harpsisword. The appearance of the store, the size of the room, even the door itself, were all familiar. Sadly, nothing else was. The vast selection of weapons was gone, replaced by crude pots. Instead of an awakened forger, Dallion had come across a balding middle-aged merchant who insisted he had nothing to do with any awakened and most definitely wasn’t selling weapons. The most alarming thing was that Dallion actually believed him. There were no obvious signs that the man was lying—he was just confused and very very afraid.

“Were you open four days ago?” Dallion pressed on.

“Oh, definitely. I was a bit short staffed back then, so I had to hire a temp to watch over the store until I got back.”

Just great, Dallion thought. It didn’t take a genius to find out that he had been scammed out of his money. The harpsisword no doubt wasn’t Taem’s to sell. Actually, there probably wasn’t any Taem at all. The person who had called for Dallion in the street never had any intention of being helpful, instead of being attracted by the rattling of his coin pouch. But in that case, who had he sold such a valuable item for so little? No wonder it was such a valuable weapon. If Dallion was to guess, he’d say that Taem had stolen everything from a noble’s collection, then sold what he could and skipped town. It was such an obvious scam. Back on Earth Dallion wouldn’t have fallen for this in a million years. Something about this world being magical, though, had caught him off guard.

“If you think something’s wrong, tell the city guard?” The merchant said, still trembling. “It’s their job to deal with rogue awakened.”

Damn it! Dallion screamed internally. This definitely wasn’t the way he had hoped he’d spend his day. Being caught with a stolen harpsisword, though, would be far worse.

“Where’s the nearest station of the guard?” Dallion asked with a deep sigh.