It had been a week since Jake entered The Turtle Forest with Elizabeth.
Three days into his new challenge, Jake received a beast-tamer subclass from Elizabeth as she was content with his ways of wilderness.
Because it was Elizabeth's original class, Jake picked up a fantastic skill from her.
[You have received Elizabeth's Beast Tamer Subclass(Epic)]
[You have learned a new skill—A Body Language Of The Beasts(Epic)(Passive Skill)]
In a nutshell, it was a skill to learn or enhance the skills of his companions. For instance, Elizabeth's Roar Of The Queen was after her lion's roar. She could shout like a lioness or use her voice to increase the effects of her lion's roar.
The same principle now applied to Jake.
That said, Jake already could use the skills of his companions during his assimilation with them. His assimilation stemmed from his unique bloodline, so Jake inferred that he'd level it up with more experiences and levels, meaning his assimilation skill would pick up more skills from his friends down the line.
It should also work similarly in their case.
'I don't have to learn skills from them,' Jake concluded. His legendary class interjected his thinking process, bonding itself with Jake's new subclass and the skill.
As it bonded, A Body Language Of The Beasts became a legendary skill exclusive to Jake.
[The Archer's Body Language Of The Beasts(Legendary)(Passive Skill)(4 slots)—Archer can link the skills of his bonded companions, of which he's familiar with his other skills. The current limit is four skills. Each skill can be only linked to one skill.]
Jake immediately felt facilitated by the new subclass and skill!
'It's brilliant! The skills of my companions are really powerful if used well, and their time limit was their real and only weakness so far! If I link those skills with other skills, the weaknesses of the latter skills will become the new weakness. I must be smart here and properly choose skills.' Jake thought.
In addition to the new skill, Jake also received a new privilege from his new subclass.
He could see more into his bonded companions' stats.
Their unusual bond, in which his companions could hear his thoughts, could also be controlled now. Anything that Jake developed along with his companions could now be seen in the beast tamer's subclass system window and appropriately sorted and listed.
It was so convenient that Jake thanked Elizabeth a lot.
"We are friends! The friends of the same feather of wilderness! Don't thank me!" Elizabeth replied at the time.
"We're the best friends!" Jake replied, patting Elizabeth's head.
"Aye!" She nodded with a bright smile.
After that, Jake and Elizabeth fought as a team against the tree soldiers. Her companions were level forty, so their presence was stronger than that of the tree soldiers.
Nonetheless, Elizabeth herself was around Jake's level. She needed her bear's protection, meaning that level forty Sio was heavily limited against the soldiers. The parrot also floated above its master, keeping her safe and intact.
Its role was dealing with an archer and other long projectile attacks.
The parrot also couldn't protect Jake at the same time.
Jake, however, didn't need others' help. He wasn't alone, either.
While he assimilated with one of his friends, the others assisted him in his endeavor. He fought against the tree soldiers in four ways of the wilderness, prying deeper into their feral sides.
Though he was way weaker than with a bow in his hand, Jake and Elizabeth still managed to hurt the tree soldiers and see into their interiors.
He continued, "They're so annoying... but their Shadow Dash is a movement skill that suits me best. With its principles learned, I should be able to make my own movement skill true to my nature."
Minerva pondered about it for a few seconds.
She faintly smiled and turned to the assassins.
"One of you has my consent to help Archer," Minerva said.
The lady assassin raised her hand and said, "I offer myself. It's been a while since I had a date!"
The other assassin hollered. "A date? Haha! I haven't seen you this desperate in years!"
The lady's eyes turned murderous. "You're making it sound like I'm past my thirties! I'll kill you!"
"I'll kill you first," the man replied.
Elizabeth grinned, "So wild! But you can't die until I learn who killed that beast!"
"You heard Elizabeth. Be quiet now," Minerva interjected before the assassins began discussing topics inappropriate for a young lady like Elizabeth at the table. "Clara shall teach Archer the basics of Shadow Dash and its tricks."
The lady assassin happily accepted the order before returning to the supper.
The other assassins sighed.
Their whispers turned into a unique code that only they could understand.
"What if she will molest the poor man?"
"Should we keep an eye on them?"
"That'll go against the imperial order."
"We should tell The Imperial Mage Orb our worries and ask for her wisdom."
"I can hear you!" Clara stabbed the thigh of the assassin beside her with a fork. No one except the assassins heard her and saw that move.
The wounded man didn't even react. He carried on with the supper as though nothing had happened.
Inwardly, he told himself he'd pay back her in the future.
Across the table, Jake didn't know about anything happening between the assassins. He thanked Minerva for her aid and turned to Clara, telling her he looked forward to their lessons.
Minerva accepted his thanks and didn't make any fuss about it. That said, she was one of a few people who could overrule the imperial order given by The Emperor himself. What she had done was nothing short of incredible.
Clara curtly smiled at Jake. It was that smile that had embarrassed Jake before.
The circumstances were much different now, and Jake took in her feelings wholeheartedly.
'A date, huh? I have never been on a date before, and I don't think anything serious will come out of this. It doesn't hurt to get some experience,' Jake thought. He was becoming increasingly interested in and affected by the opposite gender, but not to the point where he'd lose himself like an idiot struck in love.
He doubted anything would come out from this date.
In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if it was just a play on words.
Author's note: What's your opinion on short romances and romance with NPCs? Let me know!