107. Development - 5

107. Development - 5

As I covered the distance between the two towns, a smile blossomed on my face. Partially, it was about the time this little journey took. With the new stat points assigned to the Speed, combined with the multiplier effect from my Ability, the required time was more than halved.

Still, it wasn't the utility of my enhanced movement that put a smile on my face. No, it was the joy of moving as fast as a high-powered car, with nothing but the power of my own legs. The feeling of elation was incredible.

Pity I had to slow down once I got near Town Maell.

Once I arrived in the town, it didn't take much for me to find him. Ironically, his Concealment, which was supposed to keep him hidden, actually made him more noticeable to me once I knew what to look for. A subtle sense of blurring, a call to look away, allowing me to find him instead.

He was once again on a rooftop.

"I'm guessing that's the house I asked you to purchase," I said. A bit mean, as the poor boy jumped in panic, his dagger drawn halfway before he could properly pull up.New novel chapters are published on

"Yes, sir," he answered, though he failed to suppress his frustration that followed the jolt of adrenaline. A note for the future, I needed to teach him how to conceal his emotions as well. "Do you want me to give you a tour?"

"No need, I trust your tastes. Your noble education is very helpful," I said. He flinched in shock. It was a bit of a blind guess, but the glimpse I had managed was enough.

"How?" he asked, shocked and tense.

"It's the furniture that gave you away," I told him. "The arrangement is too tasteful, too elegant. It's the kind of choices someone who grew into old money would have." I explained. "Don't forget, sometimes even the subtlest detail could reveal the truth."

He looked tense, expecting me to dig deeper into his roots, maybe even try selling him back to his family.

"Let's go," I said as I turned.

"W-where?" he stammered.

"As promised, I'm going to help you level up as payment. Try to catch up," I said, and started moving. I didn't move too fast, as without the necessary stats, it would be impossible for him to follow me.

I just moved fast enough to make it challenging for him, checking his aptitude. It wasn't bad.

Slipping out of town wasn't difficult for me, and my new potential employee didn't find it particularly challenging either, his abilities helping him immensely.

Too bad his competence disappeared the instant we arrived at the woods, where the monsters walked around. He looked hesitantly toward the first attacker, and swung his dagger, only to fail to leave a decent mark. No Strength stat, I quickly realized as I swung my blade and killed the beast.

He was trying to use a basic dagger skill, which I recognized easily. But, against a beast, he wasn't particularly successful.

"Try aiming at their weak points. You don't have the Strength to deliver a more efficient hit," I said, watching him move hesitantly. "Now, follow me," I said and moved deeper into the forest.

Then, I started moving among the attacking beasts like a cyclone of death, each hit wounding a beast until they were unable to move, whether they were small or large.

It took a while for him to start moving, amazed at my display, but he soon focused on his task and started killing the beasts. "Feel free to level up whenever you want," I said, though I maintained the Charisma connection, curious about the differences between higher-ranking classes and lower-ranked ones, wondering if I would be able to catch a difference.

"Are you sure?" he started, looking hesitant, so I moved where two large beasts were attacking together, and used one hit to kill both. "Of course you're sure," he gasped, impressed.

A glow covered his body, the telltale sign of leveling, which was supposed to be the end of it.

Then, I felt a tug on my mana.

[-52 Mana]

Then, without a warning, I found myself floating in the emptiness. Worse, I wasn't alone. I was floating next to a familiar presence. In this plane, there was no face, just energy, but somehow, I still recognized the presence of the young man I had been working with.

Only, with a far better analysis of his abilities.

I couldn't exactly read his stats like they were written, but I still had an instinctual understanding of it.

He had the Assassin class. And, while I couldn't get the exact numbers, I could sense that he had Concealment, Agility, Perception, and Vitality, with Agility significantly higher than his other Stats.

Additionally, I could sense he had two skills, both relatively inferior and a very complicated ability that I could somehow feel it was linked to Concealment. Probably about his disappearance trick.

However, while I was analyzing his abilities in shock, I felt the connection between us reaching completion, and I found myself back in the opening.

He did as well.

A notification popped, conveniently telling me what was responsible for the current state.

[Hero Party: Member Acquired (1)]

At the same time, I could feel the thin line of Charisma connecting us transform into something stronger yet subtler at the same time, far more complicated than anything I could achieve, with many different functions.

However, rather than exploring its utility, I turned my attention to the young man, wondering if he knew what had happened. Hopefully, I would be able to mislead him about what had just happened.

"I-impossible," he said, astonished. Astonished in a way that a church-goer might have reacted if Jesus suddenly decided to descend in front of them during a ceremony.

"Y-you're the hero!"

Well, that didn't go as simply as I hoped.