Kelly didn’t immediately charge in towards me at the start of our battle, rather she put her arms behind her back, seeming to take a defenseless stance. Anyone that truly thought that she was defenseless, however, didn’t know anything about her.
I took a deep breath, activating my Stealth and Empty Body. She still appeared confident, and I began moving off to the side, planning to try to catch her with a surprise attack. Drawing my Vine Snake Poisoned Bow, I loaded it with a ki arrow that shot directly at her head. She was a Fallen like myself, so I knew that she would be able to survive, even if I dealt a fatal blow.
What I didn’t expect was a golden arm to simply manifest in the arrow’s path, catching the arrow and dissipating it. Kelly, with her arms still behind her back, looked in my direction with that same manic grin. “Sneak attacks only work if your opponent doesn’t know about them. Even if it wasn’t for your stench, or my perception being greater than your stealth, the intent behind your attack is more than enough to catch my attention.”
Well, how am I supposed to make an attack without any sort of intent to make an attack!? I shouted in the back of my mind, putting my bow in my inventory and using my Shadow Blade skill. With Flicker Step, I appeared less than two meters from her body, slashing out with my strongest blow.
However, another golden hand caught my wrist, stopping the blade before it could reach her neck. “That’s not how you use Flicker Step.” She spoke up, though her voice came from behind me as the image before me faded away. Though, the golden hand was still grabbing my weapon. “If you channel the skill, you can take multiple steps, and the afterimage won’t appear for any intermediary steps if you move fast enough.”
“Flicker Step can only move in a straight line, so channeling the skill like this will let you make more complex movements.” She spoke again, this time from ten meters behind me. Finally, the hand holding my wrist faded.
I paused, having not considered that. Until now, none of the skills that I had been using really gained additional effects from channeling them, aside from being able to enchant. I turned to face Kelly, asking a question that had been on my mind. “Are you only fighting with the same skills that I have?”
“Eh?” Kelly chuckled a bit at that. “Noticed, have you? That’s right. I’m only going to use the same skills that I helped you evolve in your forest trip. Even if you want to use your other skills, or even your enchanted items, feel free. I’ll just stick to these skills.”
I knew that there was a meaning to this. She wasn’t just showing me how superior she was to me, but rather trying to show me what these skills could really do. What she had been using so far was mostly Ki Projection, activating Flicker Step when I moved in close. So far, she had only used those two, but I could be sure that she would employ Killing Stare, Sunder, and Counter Attack as well, if the situation called for it.
For that reason, I couldn’t use my sword, as it would just be shattered by her strike. Sure, I might have a new one ready for me, but there was no reason to destroy a perfectly good blade! I took a deep breath, calming down and focusing. I had one advantage over her, so it was just a matter of how to use it.
Putting her advice to the test, I began to channel Flicker Step, moving to the right at an angle to approach from her side. The timing of the steps were difficult, and I wasn’t sure if I had managed to pull it off before the first afterimage appeared, but that would be something to practice later.
I activated Crystal Wall on my body, forming an armor of red crystal, before activating Ki Projection. I focused on the projection taking the shape of another layer of armor over my crystal defense, and punched towards Kelly with my ki-infused crystal fist.
Kelly arched a brow, seeming impressed, and I knew that she was able to either block the attack or dodge it. Thus, when I threw out my punch, I also activated Confuse. This was the only skill that Kelly wouldn’t know about, because I had created it accidentally while spamming both Intimidate and Provoke, a rather nonstandard strategy.
There was a harsh pressure on my mind while my punch lashed out, but I saw Kelly’s eyes unfocus for the briefest of moments. I grinned, realizing I had managed to hit the Stun effect. I felt my fist connecting with her torso, before suddenly…
My eyes snapped open, and I looked around, finding myself at the center of town. I didn’t even realize how I had died. The instant her eyes went unfocused and my punch connected, I seemed to have woken up here. Opening my inventory, I found that I was missing my Berserk Skill Book. Thankfully, it wasn’t one of my learned skills, but–
A strong hand grabbed my face as I was thinking of that, and the air around me twisted with a rush. I found myself pressed against the wall, seeing my own body nearby that had only just finished falling. “What skill was that?” Kelly asked in a serious tone. “That’s not any of the ones that you listed off when I asked about your skills the other day.”
Her fingers were digging into my forehead like iron claws, and I subconsciously placed my hand on her wrist to try to pull her hand off of me. Surprising nobody, her hand didn’t budge even when I activated all of my enhancement skills. “C-Confuse. It’s a skill that I got when I was experimenting in the forest. It inflicts a random mental effect on the target, with the strength and duration based on our abilities.”
“Confuse?” Kelly asked for a moment, before clicking her tongue. “Thought I recognized it.” Finally, she released her grip, and I could practically feel the indents in my skull from where she was grabbing. “Make sure not to use that on anyone you don’t want to make an enemy for life.”
“Alright..?” I rubbed my forehead. “Is the skill illegal or something?”
“Let me put it this way…” Kelly explained, kicking my body over towards me. I could see that there was a hole in my chest, as if from a thin, circular weapon. “When someone hits you with that skill, it feels like you are trapped in your own mind, unable to control your body. When you used it on me, it lasted… about a twentieth of a second? Not bad, but I reacted on instinct when it faded. If you used it on someone weaker than you in all aspects, the effect could last for several minutes, or even longer.”
“…Someone that you really don’t like uses this skill, don’t they?” I asked, causing Kelly to snort.
“You could say that. There’s a famous general in the Demon Army called the Mental Master. He specializes in any skill that can disrupt the enemy’s formation, with Confuse being one of his favorite skills. Fought the bastard a few times back in the day, so I got a good taste of that skill.”
I was surprised to find that Kelly had firsthand experience fighting against the army of demons. “I’ve been meaning to ask. What Traits do you have? You’ve been tailoring my training so far to take advantage of my traits, I thought you must have something strange yourself to think like that.”
Kelly shrugged her shoulders simply. “Don’t have any. My negative was only three stars, so my teacher helped me get a scroll to drop it, and I lost my positive on the battlefield. The enemy’s not going to be so kind as to let you loot your own body. They’ll loot you as soon as you die, and you can only pray that what you dropped was worth less than what they’ll drop when you find them again. Sometimes, the gamble pays off, and other times you lose out.”
I simply nodded my head, looting my body to retrieve the skill book that had dropped. “So, are we continuing?” I asked, and Kelly let out a faint chuckle.
“Nah, I’m good for now. Feeling that skill made me lose the mood. Besides, I showed you what I needed to show you, so I’m sure you can handle the rest. Just make sure to be back tomorrow at the usual time.”
“Tomorrow?” I blinked, having considered that maybe this had been my ‘graduation’ test. Kelly, meanwhile, simply rolled her eyes.
“Thought you were done so quickly? I’ve given you the skills, and now I’ve taught you how they can be used. Now, we’re going to work on your fighting style directly. Don’t worry, I know you’ve got places to be. Give me one more week to whip you into shape.”
I hesitated, but nodded my head. A week was a great deal of time for me to stop adventuring, but I was still practicing many of my skills even if I didn’t travel. I could probably develop more under her care than from normal monsters.
After turning, I left the training hall, messaging Diane that I was back in the city. She replied right away, saying to wait for her outside of Hammerhead’s store. As such, I began making my way in that direction. When I arrived, I found Diane already standing in front of the shop, her outfit the same style as what I saw her in a week before, but seeming more streamlined now.
“I don’t know how you managed to get this skill.” I said with a smile when I approached, and she pulled the Disguise skill book out of her inventory to hand to me. Only one of her eyes was visible, so I couldn’t really make out her expression.
“I took people to the dungeon.” She explained lightly. “Someone managed to get the skill book, so we traded.”
I nodded my head when I heard that. If she took a party of friends into the dungeon, it was pretty lucky for one of them to drop the book. She might have even offered to run people through the dungeon if they paid her, only asking for the skill in exchange. “Well, thank you.” I smiled more widely, immediately learning the skill. “Is there anything you’d like in return for this?”
Diane firmly shook her head. “This is keeping a promise. You kept giving me skills, so this is payback.”
I paused, but nodded my head. “Thanks. How long are you going to be in town?”
“Leaving after this. Wanted to give it before I left. I’m heading west.” She said, keeping her words brief. “Let’s get your new gear.”
I blinked, but nodded once again and headed into the shop. Diane looked at me in surprise when we entered. “You walk a little like a rogue, now.” She said, and it felt like there was a hint of praise in her tone. I let out a brief chuckle at that.
“Like I said, I’ve had a rather harsh training plan the last few days. Sorry that I kept you waiting so long.” I said, and Hammerhead was already out in the front of the shop, as if waiting for our arrival.
“It’s fine.” Diane said in a dismissive tone. “It gave me time to complete my set.”
Hammerhead simply chuckled. “Rude of you to keep a lady waiting, Drake! You know she’s been in here twice a day lately, asking if you’d–” His words were cut off as three daggers suddenly pierced into the wall behind him, one on either side of his head and the other above it. Diane still stood calmly at my side, as if she hadn’t moved.
