Chapter 184 - 184)Synchrony

[Do you wish to teach your subject, Shade, your skill tree, Poetry that Personifies The Night?

Disclaimer: Time taken to fully learn and grasp the skill tree depends upon the individual's talent and difficulty of the skill tree. Do you still wish to continue?]

What exactly was Poetry that Personifies The Night? How was it created? Why was it considered a skill tree that was completely created by Night?

In reality, Luke has the unique ability to see the flow of 'energy' in other beings, although this ability of his had only developed in the recent years, Luke still managed to take full advantage of it by listening to his body. Even if he did have such an ability, what about the martial arts? Where did that come from?

In the beginning, he simply followed what K Johnson told him but naturally as his experience grew, Luke slowly began to rely on himself and his own techniques. For some reason, his body felt more...comfortable and relaxed when he stuck to what he believed.

How was he to explain what he was capable of? Was seeing the flow of energy an everyday thing? Not to mention that he was also able to develop an entire martial art that suited his ability. The issue with Shade learning the skill tree was that he wasn't Night. Shade couldn't already see the flow of energy or mana in people. 

Night wasn't sure if his subject would get the skill that allowed him to see mana, simply being able to land hits wouldn't exactly disperse mana, unless of course, Shade was lucky and his random hits managed to do so.

"This...is.." 

At this point, everything was going too quickly. From the change in the forest to the Pope to this again. All of this happened in just a few days. It was bound to get overwhelming, even for someone like Night.

'It doesn't show any disadvantages or warnings, other than the time it takes to learn, so perhaps this would prove to be really useful? Although, I don't really get what's with the game and making me and Shade have the same skills. It's creepy....'

Of course, it would take a lot of time to learn and perhaps even more to adjust. But the plus point is that Shade having such a skill tree would be a huge asset, not only for winning fights but even in practice. Mages would have to be extra careful.

'I wonder....'

Visions of the two of them fighting side by side, in perfect synchrony, thrashing everyone that crossed their paths. It was beautiful, it looked scary, especially because of how much Shade was starting to resemble His Lord. Streaks of purple and white flashing around in darkness, the opponents remain completely clueless as to what was going on, every time they let out a breath of angst, another punch or another strike would land.

Night's vision was a very considerate one. He imagined Shade being able to use his abilities just like him, on equal footing. If Shade was aware of what Hir Lord was currently thinking then he would surely decline or deny such thoughts, there was no way Shade would voluntarily accept the fact that he could stand on the same footing as Night.

"My Lord.." Shade's voice broke his fantasy, bringing him back to a slightly concerned Guardian turned subject. "You've been idle for so long... I was worried something might be disturbing you..."

"Oh that. Forget about that...tell me this though. How would you like to learn the same martial arts as me? It might be hard I think, I'm not sure. And I don't want to force it upon you, but as long as you agree, I'll make sure you learn properly. You might even see things I didn't get to show yet, so think for a minute and let me kno-"

"Yes My Lord."

"Are you su-"

"Absolutely. There is nothing that would make me happier than to learn from My Lord. I'm forever grateful for your generosity..."

"Haah..."

Night couldn't help but sigh. Shade's reaction was just as he expected it to be. However, sometimes he felt more like an older brother than a Lord. Deep down Night knew that he could never fully treat Shade as a subject. Not because it was weird, simply because of Shade's character.

"Alright then. Yes. Continue.." Night spoke, confirming the system's message.

[Calculating Difficulty of Skill tree...]

[Calculating Difficulty of Skill tree...]

[Calculating Difficulty of Skill tree...]

[Unable to give difficulty grade higher than SSS...]

[Unable to give difficulty grade higher than SSS...]

[Unable to give difficulty grade higher than SSS...]

[Grade SSS* has been assigned to Poetry that Personifies The Night!]

[Your subject, Shade has started undergoing the process to learn your skill tree. Assisting him will result in a boost of progress, however, this only depends on the material that is being thought.]

[Title 'Dark Prince and His Subject' strengthened!]

[Title 'Dark Prince and His Subject' strengthened!]

"Do you feel any different?" Night asked as he looked at the glow finally disappear.

".....I'm not sure...My Lord.." Shade stuttered as he stood up and looked at his own body, he patted his arms and legs just to confirm whether or not something had changed within him. He looked up and was met with his Lord's eyes which instantly made him put his face down.

"Hmm?" Night noticed a slight blue glow in Shade's eyes, even though it was only for a second, he was sure he had seen something. However, he already had an answer. Of course, there was going to be no sudden change. After all, Shade hadn't learned the skill tree yet.

'But wait...'

How was he to know when Shade had completed learning the skill tree? Besides, wasn't a skill tree something that could grow? Wouldn't that mean his progress would get impacted every time Night added another move to that skill tree? Not that it was easy to do so, but at the same time, it wasn't easy to create one either.

'Haah...there's a lot to do.....and not too much time honestly. First, let's focus on getting to Aeternum, it's going to be interesting...'

However, just as he was about to step forward and continue on his path, Night heard Shade's voice once again, except this time, it looked like there was a very good reason behind it.

"My Lord.....this is for you...." Shade said as he held a green-looking shard in his hand. It was the only drop he received after killing the Guardian of Verdin.

"Fragment of the Guardian of Verdin....." Night muttered as he read aloud the item's name. "Tell me Shade, you can hide in this right? I mean like, you can go into this yes?"

"I can but only with My Lord's permission..."

"Then can you tell me the true purpose of this fragment? It can't only be for storing Guardians right? That's absurd! Wouldn't that mean these territorial monsters were meant to be captured??"

"Wait....." Night looked like he realized something, his eyes slowly widened as he grabbed Shade's shoulders, "tell me, does having this fragment allow individuals to control the guardian????!!!"

"..."

It was an interesting question. After Night heard of Nate's battle against the Guardians, he immediately began to think what could've caused it. According to his friend, it was somehow achieved by the Myth, Neo Thallius. 

"I cannot say for sure My Lord...." Shade said in a disappointed tone, he was a Guardian and he felt shameful and stupid to not answer that, especially because it was something His Lord was curious about, "But I can tell you that, capturing and enslaving a Guardian isn't as easy as getting a hold of their tokens..."

"In the first place...I'm surprised to see that My Lord is in possession of three, especially because, Guardians don't usually come out and attack 'trespassers'..."

"Well, that.....is nothing ahaha.." Night laughed nervously, it was a scene that already took place once before, except the last time it was just Noel and him. It was after they had left Blade to go to the Imperial Kingdom, ".....We need to get stronger..."

"As you wish My Lord" Shade replied not even questioning the sudden statement His Lord blurted out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sir....Genesis is only growing with every passing day, as of now, it is more than just some game. It's a treasure chest. Anyone competent or capable enough is easily able to earn millions, of course, they would have to play their cards right..."

"So I hear.....you better be right about this. And what about the other matter? Is that just a silly rumour or some kind of a misunderstanding?"

"....No sir...."

"I see....so it's confirmed then. Who would've thought that filth was useful huh? It may just be time to get him back here, after all, he still has some blood of mine, tch. Use any resources you want to. Just make sure he's alive, so that means no weapons, we can't afford to hurt him....."