“John”

Today was going to be a normal day of turning down newbies who thought I was just another skill trainer. Oh, how happy I am to be proven wrong though. A trio came into the hall and caused a bit of a stir. The girl had one of those legacy weapons that the travellers show up with occasionally. An impractical affair combining a bow, staff, daggers, and doubled bladed spear. Of course it works just fine and with System rewards viable. Be a problem to get crafted ones though. Not my problem and not what I found interesting.

The dwarf in the group was boring despite the interesting combination of whip and shield. Bit of a mystery as to why in the world is he out of the dwarven outpost without his skills already. Still not interesting enough for me though. If I wanted to dabble in dwarven politics there are better ways to do that. Especially when I came to this out of the way place to avoid politics. At my level it is hard to do so but, well, life happens.

Anyway, what caught my attention was the third kid. A human with no visible weapon that wandered around yet not finding a skill he could use. Found out right quick why though as he ended up coming to my corner. Not quite as bombastic as the rabbitkin but he had a nice little speech for us. Apparently he doesn’t have a favored weapon or rather his favored weapon is his body. Not some weird gloves, not spiky shoes, nothing external. That is a first in a long while. There are some of us locals who travel the path of a pure body cultivator but I wouldn’t quite say that is what this kid is doing.

Not that it matters, I signaled the others to stay back. This fish was mine and minnow he might be but interesting, nonetheless. That and I promised Penny to teach him a thing or two if he couldn’t find anything. Knew exactly what to teach the kid after a few words. He was confident in his martial arts so I offered a movement skill. Not the usual ones though. Sure silent step and bounding leap are great beginner skills but I wanted to have a little fun with the kid. I could practically hear the other rogue trainers screaming inside as I led him to my private training room. Can’t blame them, not like I let them in it.

As we walked to the room, I observed the way he walked from behind. He didn’t even notice when I switched out for my double so I could change into my special gear. Not his fault of course. Anyway, I couldn’t give him the really interesting options for a skill so it was a bit of a challenge to decide on what to offer. Now most trainers would offer just one of these skills if the trainee had particular promise or some other outside factor. Instead, I just belted out the three most appropriate for him.

Seemed he knew what was what, so I tweaked his nose a bit by questioning his prep after he chose Desolate Traversal Technique. Then of course I set the course to what someone at the height of the Novice rank with the skill could manage. He was a little rough to start but picked it up quickly as the challenge ramped up. I ducked out near the beginning to enter the control room proper.

I could tell when he got it. Almost made me want to take back my previous statement to him about not personally training him. It was hard to resist the urge to offer him a place as my apprentice. Only thing that kept me back was the fact he didn’t seem like the type who would enjoy sneaking around. At that point I could only keep upping the difficulty of the course to see how far he would go. When he finished and told me that he got to Initiate level 3 I couldn’t hide my surprise.

Embarrassed I covered it up with talking about how it was only luck that he activated powered grip. Never mind the fact that there are people at Apprentice rank of the skill who can’t master it. As if luck would let someone use that ability.

Okay, I admit he got my blood pumping. Right then and there I made a bad decision. What I am best known for isn’t my sneaking but my alchemy. After watching him complete the trial at such a low level I knew he had a tough body and couldn’t help but offer what shouldn’t have been offered. The System actually issued me a warning for it. Still, I brought him into my personal poison lab. May the gods have mercy on my soul I offered him poison resistance through the hardest method.

He accepted of course. At that point I couldn’t back down. I brought out That poison. My masterpiece which I declined to allow a name. I joke about how it isn’t the easiest to make. Easy? Each dose takes ten years to make and I only ever have three made at a time. It isn’t even meant for others to use but rather to train the alchemy skill.

The fool took it in one gulp. You can tell sometimes when the System offers a choice and boy was it obvious when the first offer to stop the pain popped up. Still, he persevered. I had to drop him into the lower padded room. In the end though he lasted. Boy, did he last. Got the skill and then some. You get the skill after one minute but he kept going. He must have been so focused on resisting that he missed getting the skill. I have a hard time past four minutes and this kid actually lasted over two. Each minute when first taken is worth a skill rank. This nobody without a background got farther than some of the monstrous apprentices that other masters have sent to test it. Well, Penny can’t deny that I tried my best training her little disciple. She was a little distraught when I dropped him off at the guild bar but she will get over it.