Chapter 72: Acting

Chapter 72: Acting

Master Arenev! A young, upbeat voice cut through the early morning chaos of the main street as dungeoneers bustled about their supply runs in preparation for a new delve.

A man with rugged brown hair responded to the call, casually glancing over his shoulder with some intrigue.

Dorn, Tom acknowledged after a pause, his expression easing back into a mask of nonchalance as he continued walking forward, albeit at a slower pace.

Although Tom had expected Arenevs acquaintances to reach out to him while he maintained this guise, it was still a little disconcerting to be called upon in public like that.

Doing his best to maintain a carefree expression, Tom kept his gaze pointed forward as the sandy-brown haired man he placed in Arenevs memories as a young, boisterous dungeoneer that was talented enough to survive multiple delves quickened his pace to catch up with him.

Ironically, Dorns budding talent was matched only by his recklessness and it was also the reason why he frequently required Arenevs services.Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

Im surprised to see you around this early, Dorn cheerfully greeted, an energetic smile resting on his features as he walked in lockstep with him.

I have some personal affairs to deal with, Tom succinctly explained. He didnt like the way Dorn was eyeing him, as if encountering him here was a serendipitous encounter for the young dungeoneer.

Master Arenev, Dorn began, his tone almost excessively polite as he used the prefix attributed to craftsmen in the Nameless District. Could you take a look at my sword? I ran into some particularly tough Crypt Demons on my last delve.

Whats the damage like? Is the sword chipped or dented? Tom asked, his thoughtful expression an emulation of Arenevs own when the latter lost himself in his craft.

Only dented, though its quite banged up, Dorn sheepishly replied, clearly a little embarrassed.

Id like to help you, but, Tom gestured to his belt, as you can see, I dont have my tools with me.

I can borrow some, Dorn immediately offered, the enthusiasm in his gaze almost infectious.

An exasperated sigh was the response Tom settled on, after thinking back on some of Arenevs interactions with the young dungeoneer.

Fine. Fine, but youre going to have to wait until Im done with my shopping, Tom assented, though he did so without masking the grumpiness in his tone. Arenev had a bit of a soft spot for the dungeoneer, though he would never admit it, not in a thousand years.

Thank you! Dorn offered him a quick bow and then hurriedly departed in search of replacement tools.

Tom had debated outright refusing Dorns request, but not only would that have been out of character, part of him still wanted to test out his [Basic Weapon Repair Proficiency]. If the weapon had been chipped, the damage would have been impossible to repair without a reforge. But a few dents? That comfortably fell under the umbrella of his newly acquired skills.

And his acting had been convincing enough to completely deceive an acquaintance of Arenev, which had been his primary goal while adopting this disguise.

Three Smoke Mixes, Tom told the likely self-taught alchemist as his gaze swept through the dozen or so concoctions that had been arrayed on a simple wooden table for the second time.

Already having sensed her presence, the blacksmith pivoted to face her.

Yeah, thats what Ive been saying, The blacksmith replied, a little annoyance seeping into his tone. Remember, I told you that Id be back in a day.

You told me that you, Aleph paused for emphasis, would be back in a day. Not another person entirely! Aleph didnt raise her voice, but the shock in her tone was all but evident. She had heard of Cards that could change the inflection of ones voice. Alter ones appearance marginally. Change their skin tone. And indeed, if all those deck cards were used in tandem, one could theoretically become another person.

Except those cards had severe limitations and if one looked closely enough, the disguise would fall apart. Not to mention that there were multiple ways of guarding against appearance altering cards.

But if the person before him was truly Synrak, then it meant that he had found a way to alter his height, weight, skin tone, hair color and accent, among other things. Could so many Deck Cards even be activated at once?

Or was it.

Alephs eyes widened at the implication as she thought of an even more intimidating realization.

. a single card.

Look, I-, Tom began to explain, only to trail off as Aleph materialized a crystal sword into her right hand.

Not liking the turn the situation had taken, Tom reached into his inventory and pulled out a large glass jug full of viscous red blood and then simply let it fall to the ground.

The cacophony of shattering glass seemed to serve as the catalyst for Alephs furious charge. Moments later, the spilled blood that had been mixed with small, almost imperceptible motes of glass dust rose to the air.

Before Aleph had even covered half the distance separating them, the pool of blood had reshaped itself into a thick, two-handed spear; an almost exact replica of the spear Jayce wielded.

[Titans Sequitur- Bulwark]

One moment, Aleph was staring down a defensive spear stance that was unlike anything she had seen Tom use before, her sword drawn back in preparation for a testing slash meant to disarm.

The next, she found her sword slash intercepted mid-swing, as Tom shifted from a defensive stance to an offensive one with surprising, almost practiced ease.

Strength.

Overwhelming strength crashed against her sword arm, almost instantly blowing her backwards. Her boots skidded against the ground, but the friction generated was far from enough to contain the sheer momentum that had been transferred to her upon impact.

Only after she materialized her crystal armor did her weight counterbalance the momentum behind Toms odd, unconventional defensive spear slash.

You, Aleph pointed at Tom with her index finger as her crystal armor began to dissolve into nothingness, have a lot of explaining to do.