I couldn’t believe in what my eyes were seeing at that moment.
[THE 03 ABILITIES HAVE A SYNERGY EFFECT]
[DO YOU WANT TO MERGE THEM?]
[YES] [NO]
I recalled the first time I saw the system showing me something this sweet, and the answer was the same as then.
’Do you even need to ask?’
[YES]
[MERGING ABILITIES – CONCEAL PRESENCE; MIRAGE WALK; SHADOW WALK]
[3...]
[2...]
[1...]
[MERGING SUCCESSFUL]
[THE PLAYER HAS ACQUIRED THE SKILL: ABSOLUTE SILENCE]
[THE PLAYER HAS ACQUIRED THE SKILL: GHOST STEPS OF A THOUSAND FEET]
[ABSOLUTE SILENCE – LVL???
DESCRIPTION: Unique Synergy Skill - The player becomes completely undetectable for all eyes and ears around him.]
[COST: 50MP per minute]
[GHOST STEPS OF A THOUSAND FEET – LVL???
DESCRIPTION: Unique Synergy Skill - Offense/Illusion – When the player moves to attack, he can choose to activate the effect, moving his feet so fast that it creates various afterimages, causing confusion to the enemy.]
The system was finally giving me something related to my class, and I had to force myself not to smile.
I was so happy I almost shook!
And I almost wanted to remove Johan’s restraints to test the new skills, but it wasn’t the right time yet.
Evellyn felt something, because she looked at me with those intrigued eyes that she had when I did something unexpected.
"I wanted to say that we were done here, but we aren’t, and we still have to wait for a bit longer until the main event arrives."
Evellyn looked perplexed and Johan raised his brow.
"But it doesn’t mean I’m done with the asking you stuff. So before the main attraction arrives, would you kindly tell me what you know about the equipment inside the monitoring division building? The one that seals abilities?"
I approached him slowly, but he laughed.
Yeah, I still have a long way to go, but I promise one day you’ll tremble at the mere mention of my name.
If you live long enough, that is.
"Do you really think you’re safe and able to ask questions just because I’m chained to the floor? Did you know that I’m an S-ranked wielder?"
I raised my brow and looked at him as nonchalantly as I could.
"Oh, so... DILLIGAF?"
Both Johan and Evellyn looked at me with almost literal question marks on their eyes.
"DILLIGAF, no? Do. I. Look. Like. I. Give. A. Fuck?"
S-rank or not, Johan’s face went low and his jaw dropped even lower.
This time, I didn’t just look at his eyes.
I clenched my fist and embedded it with so much mana that a trembling aura appeared around my hand.
"Let’s see how sturdy you are with this."
BAM!
His head shook violently to the side when the punch landed, but his stamina and vigor were good enough, so Johan just spat a mouthful of blood. And when I was ready to say the next line, a male voice sounded behind me, followed by Nikolai’s.
"Having fun without me, already? I thought we discussed the terms of my help, young Mr. Blake."
"Yes, why are you having him all to yourself? I want to watch too."
"Sorry, Mr. Semenov. I got a bit carried away. You see, someone here doesn’t want me to do it the hard way, so I just let him feel a bit of my fist."
The man behind Nikolai had an incomparably stronger presence than Johan, despite the latter being an S-rank.
Nikolai’s father, Yuri Semenov, had very short, black hair. His gray, scarred eyes gave the sensation of a wild winter, and his hands carried so many scars that I felt pity for the men that faced these fists throughout Yuri’s life.
He was wearing a simple, navy-blue pinstripe suit, and I swear I could discern one pair of brass knuckles on his belt.
"You can call me Yuri. When Nikolai contacted me I was very surprised, little friend. After he took off, I thought I would only see him in his funeral or at the top of the world. So I’m glad he got to have a good friend to help him with his business. Is he the one I was informed about?"
Nikolai smirked, but I was a bit confused from what he told me about his relationship with his dad and how Yuri seemed pretty cool.
It was a talk for later. Nikolai looked happy to have his dad around after I told him I managed to call him and ask for his help.
"Yes, his name is Johan Lenox-"
"Member of the monitoring division, could’ve become the leader due to his rank, but his blood thirst was bigger than him, and he was kept in the lower positions, entitled to keeping order in a few wielders’ prisons." Yuri held his chin, interrupting me.
But what could I do? The man had done his homework, so I didn’t have anything to complain about.
The best part was that after Silence emerged, many people felt a bit more free to express their hatred towards them.
And I wasn’t surprised when I found out that Yuri’s guild, Sila (strength) was one of them.
"Looks like someone did their homework, but I already told Mr. Blake here that I know nothing about the sealing device or how he sealed that girl’s power!"
I was paying close attention to Yuri as he looked at Johan with scrutinizing eyes, and for the briefest of the moments, I noticed a black gleam flashing through his eyes.
"Oh, my friend, but I know that you’re lying. So you do know something, and if it isn’t related to the sealing of a wielder’s power, my name isn’t Yuri." He grinned, grabbing Johan by his collar.
Good thing no one was paying attention to me this time, because the grin on my face was almost as big as Yuri’s.
[PRYING EYES] The thought crossed my mind in a flash.
[NAME: YURI SEMENOV
RANK: S
AGE: 45
CLASS: Gangster
STAMINA: 1000/1000
HP: 1000/1000
MP: 500/500
BASIC STATS
Strength: 640
Dexterity: 100
Agility: 100
Perception: 590
Intelligence: 200
Vigor: 400
EQUIPMENT
Silver Knuckles
SKILLS
Lie detection LVL 20
Hand to hand combat LVL 20
Commander LVL 25
Fire weapons LVL 25
Blade proficiency LVL 25]
He had [LIE DETECTION]! I couldn’t contain the happiness. The word [STEAL] crossed my head in a lightning bolt.
[PREPARING SKILL]
[THE PLAYER WISHES TO STEAL OR COPY THE TARGET’S ABILITY?]
’Copy.’
[COPYING DESIRED ABILITY]
[3...]
[2...]
[1...]
[ABILITY SUCCESSFULLY COPIED]
[LIE DETECTION CONVERTED TO POLYGRAPH LVL 15]
[POLYGRAPH – LVL 15
DESCRIPTION: Passive skill – The player can feel when someone is telling the truth or not, despite the person’s rank]
Sweet!
Now I’m basically completely silent and a human polygraph.
How long until I virtually become ninja?
The thought made me chuckle a little, and Johan looked at me with squinted eyes.
"What? I knew you were lying, I just needed a more effective way to make you speak. Yuri, he’s all yours. Care to tell me what he did once you’re done?"
"A deal is a deal, Mr. Blake." He smiled.
"Call me Kurt, please."
He nodded at me, and I pulled Evellyn outside and she begrudgingly followed me.
Outside, we went upstairs when she stopped me in the middle of the empty staircase.
"You weren’t thinking of killing him?" Her eyes showed confusion and relief.
"I’ll be honest with you, I thought about it, but I already killed seven people, and I don’t want to go down that road unless it’s absolutely necessary." Her eyes widened, but I spoke before she could. "Before you think, I don’t feel proud for killing them, and I still blame myself for killing Rodrick. It doesn’t matter if it were an accident. So if I won’t kill anyone anymore, unless I have to."
She looked at me, silent, so I asked.
"What Johan said, is it true?"
"What do you mean?"
"He said that every time you traveled through universes, you’d wake up in a body like yours, but in a new world. Is it true?"
"Yes..."
[THE SUBJECT IS TELLING THE TRUTH]
Okay, the skill works.
"But... If your body dies there, doesn’t it mean that-"
"That I basically steal my other version’s body to keep on living? Yes..."
Her eyes were sad as she said that, and I felt my heart sinking down my stomach as the realization hit me.
[THE SUBJECT IS TELLING THE TRUTH]
"That’s why you’re ageless?"
"Same as you..."
"Wait, no."My stats window showed my age, right? I was sixteen. "I’m not."
"Do you really believe that? Kurt..." She caressed my face. "I lost my ability a few weeks ago, but I know you from before that. And I had my Eyes of The Scribe on you the first time we met here." Somehow my hands started shaking. "You’re a 32 year old man in the body of a teenager."
No.
I’m not.
I just regressed in time, I can’t have... Can I?
"Kurt..." Evellyn looked deeply in my eyes. "You stole the body of the Kurt from this version of the world."