Chapter 128: Unprepared

Chapter 128: Unprepared

The monster collapsed, but Nikolas was already there, having moved the moment Leif’s aura spiked with a discordant mix of emotions. It was a good thing that his office, and much of the Twin Heart headquarters was warded against unkeyed presences, or the plant monster would have caused every worker in the archives on the floor below, and likely several working in the alchemy labs below that to have collapsed into an emotional stupor.

It was the kind of sympathetic technique used by high level individuals with the [Noble] class, and any doubt the man turned monster Nikolas held in his arms lacked such a class was now long gone. The guild leader strained under the surprising weight of the half catatonic being, flaring a strength enhancing skill in order to pull the Scion up and over to a corner of the room.

“What have I done?” Leif murmured, though Nikolas doubted the question was directed at him. Whatever the contents of the smaller letters were, had been significant enough to have triggered some sort of emotionally sympathetic skill, though he didn’t know exactly what. He had felt the skill activate, sensed as something beyond his perception temporarily expanded to fill the thaumatic membrane of the room.

“Flavia, I’m so sorry.” The scion whispered.

“It’s okay kid.” Nikolas said before his mind had caught up with his words. “You’ll be okay.”

It was extremely unusual to be offering words of sympathy to someone on the far end of the human spectrum, but it didn’t feel like the wrong thing to do. He sighed, propping Leif up against a wall and taking a step back from the seated man.

Gods dammit Hera, what did you do? He fumed, using his aura to pull the larger letter up from where it had fallen onto the floor. He skimmed it, the information processing granted from a high [Intelligence] attribute making the task take a matter of instants. He was no [Scribe], his paperwork prowess came from brute force and practice.

He was skimming the last of the smaller notes written by Leif’s sister when a presence flickered briefly on the other side of his door. The room was soundproofed, but Nikolas could practically hear the yelp of surprise as his visitor made his presence known to the two guards stationed outside.

With an effort of will the room’s door unlocked with a faint click, then Lars stepped smoothly inside, the man practically gliding with every step. “Uncle.” He said politely, dipping his head in the barest approximation of a bow. “There was a fight between a handful of applicants, and they have been banned from participating in guild tryouts, otherwise things are going smoothly.” His eyes slid over to where Leif was sitting, then back to Nikolas.

“Tactful as ever, little Hera put an emotional ambush in her letter. It had a larger impact than she was likely imagining.” He explained, answering Lars’s unasked question.

“I see... there was no... incident?”

“Other than my desk getting a few new scratches and one of my chairs getting damaged on accident, no, there was no major incident.”

A privacy bubble sprung up around both men, the creation an act of silent spellcraft and aura manipulation. Nikolas was almost jealous of proficiency with which his nephew manipulated his more esoteric powers. He was a prodigy, no doubt about it, even if his levelling speed was only above average, instead of astronomical like someone like Hera’s had been.

“Uncle, I don’t doubt your judgement, but are you certain we can afford to house a potential risk within our Guild? With the state the city is in, not to mention the tension building between the disparate factions... I just can’t see the benefit.” Lars said, his tone suggesting more doubt that he otherwise implied.

Nikolas examined the younger man, it still took him by surprise how similar he looked to his father. Guild enforcer he may be, prodigy he was, he wasn’t experienced enough that his uncle couldn’t teach him a thing or two. “You read the uncensored report just like I did, what do you think?”

“That an anomaly partially involved with the regional tension Ahle-ho is currently experiencing isn’t a risk worth onboarding.” Lars replied instantly, the man silently judging Nikolas’s expression before elaborating. “The fact it... he, got into the city at all is a testament of how badly things are going. With the influx of refugees the city has never been so full. The sheer mass of newcomers is acting as cover for the other guilds to silently bring in their people despite it being against the guild accords.”

“All true, all true. But I think you’re missing the greater picture. The Twin Heart guild isn’t exclusively based in Ahle-ho like many of the other guilds, and as one of its future leaders you need to be aware of external factors.”

Lars frowned, the same way his father used to do when deep in thought. Nikolas smiled slightly at the sight, but quickly suppressed the expression to avoid making the younger man think he was getting mocked. Sensitive to certain emotional phenomena he may be, Lars wasn’t at the level where he could freely read the guild-masters' intentions.

“I think foreign powers are using the turbulence to slip agents into the city. The imperial garrison already acts openly and with the support of the Prince, but it’s an open secret the Republic is pressing for advantage in any way it can. There are reports of sabotage along the imperial cordon, though monster attacks are finally beginning to ebb.”

“Did you hear the news from Pridelance?”

“Yes. While the destruction of the Pherin dungeon uncovered by the Academy expedition over a year ago is certainly a possibility to explain the lack of monster attacks, I doubt the veracity of the claim. They didn’t disclose the source of their information, and the outer branch sustained an attack at the same time.”

“Potential calamity. Likely ally.”

“I need a drink.”

“No booze in the office I’m afraid, wife’s orders.”

Lars just stared blankly at him. Nikolas sighed, waving his hand and revealing a hidden compartment built into one of the shelves. The privacy bubble popped.

===

The sound of voices broke Leif out of his stupor. Distantly he had been aware of the two presences in the room with him, though he hadn’t brought himself to care. He needed to do so many things, wanted to make things right. But how? And in what order. Even if intellectually he had known the difficulties of completing his goals, it was only now, confronted with physical evidence of his past life that it all seemed so daunting, an impossibility as he currently was.

His vision cleared slightly, the blurry shapes of his surroundings slowly coming into focus. That was it, wasn’t it? He couldn’t go home as he was, he would just make things worse. He couldn’t get to the Academy, his cover would all but assuredly get unveiled. But he needed to get to Hera, with her connection to his sister he could figure something out. Maybe send a letter telling Flavia that he wasn’t dead? But to do that he would need to reach the Academy.

How? He thought. I’m not even sure where it is. Across the sea and to the south, but where exactly? Seig mentioned something called ‘Lutum’, but what is that? A part of the Academy? If the expedition could make it to the frontier of what was formerly the kingdom of Pherin, then surely there’s a way to get from Ahle-ho to the Academy.

But even if there was, was it even wise to do such a thing? Nikolas had mentioned several ways he could fairly easily be uncovered as a monster. But those weren’t impossible obstacles to overcome. His aura control could be improved, his ability to block hostile analysis skills increased. And maybe if I can push through the advancement bottleneck, I’ll get a clue as to how I can potentially gain a human form.

Ram had been unhelpful when Leif had asked. Apparently the process involved puckering and wishful thinking, though the old goat had either not felt like revealing the conditions for getting the ability, or he had forgotten.

But even with all the uncertainty, the path forward, at least for the immediate future, was clear. Advance, improve, learn, then travel. It wouldn’t be easy, and he was potentially doomed to failure. But he had to try. By some miracle he had been given a second chance at life. For much of his time as a monster Leif had regretted what he had become, despised the form he now wore in place of his humanity. But he would have died in that battle, unlike the hundreds who had no doubt fallen alongside him, Leif had a second chance. It was time to start treating his life as such.

He stood, slowly getting to his feet as a wave of unusual dizziness threatened to send falling back onto the floor. He exhaled, then met the gazes of the two humans who had paused their conversation to look at him. As was quickly proving to be a pattern, Nikolas had a glass of alcohol raised to his lips. The second man, Lars, had an empty glass on the desk before him, though he didn’t seem to be in the process of drinking the day away.

“How do you feel?” Nikolas asked. “You were pretty out of it after reading that letter.”

“I’m... I’ll be fine. I wasn’t expecting to be confronted so directly by my past. It’s hard to explain, but it hit me far harder than I had thought it would.

Nikolas reached forward and slid the neatly stacked pile of papers towards Leif. “These are yours, should you want them. You are a guest of the guild, and can do as you wish. I know Darius offered to have you join him with the newbie tryouts, and that offer is still open if you wish.”

“I... yes, that sounds interesting. But I need to think beyond that. I’m nowhere near as prepared as I had thought I was, I need to advance and train, learn about all that I’m lacking. Progressing was my primary focus, and still is, but I now know that my efforts were aimless and mostly ineffectual.”

“Well, how convenient that you find yourself within the headquarters of an organisation dedicated to just that.” The guild-master said with a grin. “And don’t put yourself down too much, you’ve done fine, better than most people do trying to level up solo.”

“You are lacking in several key areas, and not to be rude, but your identity is a potential risk to us.” Lars said, expression and aura inscrutable. “To rectify that I will teach you some of what you lack. For the guild, you understand?”

“You mean about auras?” Leif asked, trying not to let the sudden spike of excitement that fluttered to life in his chest leak out into his voice.

Lars looked to Nikolas as if seeking approval, then nodded. “I do.”