3 Chapter 3

*2 weeks later*

I looked through my status as we were led to the music room.

[Name: Ethan Shaw

Title: Traveler

Class: Thief (2/10); Rogue (5/5)

MP: 100

Stats

Agility: 12 - 14

Perception: 16 - 17

Wisdom: 11 - 12]

It has been a while since my last level up but that was to be expected. Not only is Thief a tier II class but I had laid low since the incident. Which was for the best I think, rumours about a pickpocket had spread around the area.

At least training my skills gave me experience too.

[Stealth (Un) (12/40)

Throwing (Un) (7/40)]

Seeing the progress I made filled me satisfaction, Stealth had progressed thanks to my eavesdropping on adults about the pickpocket, ergo me, as well as avoiding any police officers. I don't really think they were determined to find me, it was probably to appease the people who complained but being careful won't hurt me.

For Throwing it had simply been a whim and a way to pass the time that had unlocked it. I was just throwing a tennis ball I found and unlocked it. It had taken a while I remember, I was just doing it mindlessly for the most part. Still using it to knock rocks from far away was pretty satisfying, especially on far targets. I had taken to rebound the ball in an increasingly complicated manner to to knock a rock out of my desk in the end.

Uncommon Skills also gave much more experience for my class which was expected really but nonetheless welcome.

The teacher, one , shuffled us into the room so I had to cut any musing about further progress, which was a shame. It certainly was more interesting than whatever crap we were about to do.

Ugh what a drag.

It seems we were singing today, I will have to bear with hearing the horribly out of sinc, laughing and screeching brats. Why do I exist just to suffer, God?

She caught my grimace and smiled reassuringly at me before guiding our merry band of sociopaths to sing.

I sighed.

This'll take a while, won't it?

Thankfully I've mostly been able to tune everything out and just mouth the words so it passed quickly enough. Now it was time for recess so I could chill in an empty room or the library.

"Ethan could you stay please?" whispered as she grabbed my shoulders. At least I was the last in the line so no jeering from snot nosed kids. I wasn't prideful but having kids that still wet their beds insulting me has a way of quickly wearing my patience thin.

I nodded and waited until we were alone before speaking,"Is there a problem?"

"I've noticed that you weren't singing with the others today." We were really doing that huh? Well time to use evasive tactics.

I deliberately shuffled in place, looking down and lowering my voice,"Sorry."

Nailed it.

She kneeled before me as she continued, "I don't mind Ethan. I just wanted to know if maybe you dislike singing? Was that why you won't do it with the others?"

Damn was she persitent. Or maybe I'm not as good as I thought. It worked for every adults, why not her? Well, I'll just be honest then.

"It's just- I don't like to sing with the others... It's not pretty at all."

"Is that so?" She hummed. What was going on inside that infernal mind of hers? Just let me go woman.

"Would you like to sing with me? Just the two of us."

What.

She smiled in a conspiratorial manner, like she was sharing a secret and I have to admit if I was a kid, I would have been charmed instantly. The thing is I am not a child at all and could only wonder what was her game.

Still, I don't have any reason to refuse and she put me on the spot and I'd feel bad not accepting an-

I sighed

I won't be able to refuse am I?

A tale as old as time, little cub.

I know, I know. Well, in a for a penny, in for a pound.

I looked up at her muttured this cursed word, "Okay."

The smile she gave me was positively radiant and I couldn't move until she took her place at the piano.

"Ready?" She asked and I could only nod.

So we sang, sang and sang some more until the end of recess. She asked me if I would like to do this again and for some reason I accepted. "It's a promise then" she told me and I couldn't stop my lips from twitching up.

Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

_______________

*End of February*

I listened to the scream of pure rage and snorted. That'll teach him to not mess with me. Really pushing me and insulting me will he? He was lucky I had just pranked him and didn't magic a broken bone or two.

[Trap making (C) has evolved into Trapping (Un) (1/40)]

Nice.

[You have leveled up! You may now choose a new skill!]

Double nice.

Let's see what do we have here...

[Disarm trap (Common): You know how to create trap, how nice! But maybe it would be useful to know how to disarm them no? After all, you wouldn't want to spring your own pranks on yourself! You could try to do it without this skill, you made them so you must know how to undo them!]

Right, another easy to earn skill and while the sarcasm was irritating it hinted at when the Game thought it easy to learn. As for choosing it? No way, I'll learn it the hard way.

[Dagger arts (Uncommon): Daggers, knives, stilettos and many others. Through history, many were those who used these weapons to great effect. Easy to conceal, fast, throwable and versatile. What's not to love about them ? The greatest could slit a throat faster than you could blink and slip away undetected. For you howerver, the road will be long and arduous, you still are a mere apprentice but perhaps one day you will stand among them.]

"So I was right..." I mused, feeling satisfied. That was a strong contender right there, I'll compare with the next skill and see which I'll choose then.

[Sixth sense (Uncommon): The ability to know something without using the ordinary five senses. For the ingorant, this would be described as a spiritual sense capable of telling you between right and wrong, to connect spiritually with other people and make peace with yourself. What utter nonsense. This is your ability to detect danger a split second before it strikes you. Only the ones most connected with their primal side can use this and they listen to it each and every time to save their life. After all, a split second is often the only difference between life and death.]

I wistled. That was a very strong skill, useful too. However I had no idea how to level it up apart from doing very, very stupid decisions that I would have no way to survive.

At least currently.

So a definite for the future but not now? That seemed right. And I want to play with knives to. It'd be cool to know how to twirl a knife between my fingers. maybe it'll help twirling my pen too.

Dagger arts it is!

As knowledge entered my mind, I felt astounded at the sheer quantity there was to knife fighting. Oh it wasn't the end, oh no. How to use little blades hidden in my sleeve, how to use bigger blades to strike an ennemy lethally and non-lethally. Weak spots on the human body, how to inflict pain without doing too much damage. More knives! Every knife! Why is there so many?!

This was so much more than I thought...

I silently locked the door of my room and fell into a stance, trying to mimic what I knew but what my body didn't. Reversing my grig, throwing stances, crouching and rising, moving from a stance to another.

This wasn't about being flashy. It wasn't about momentum even if that helped.

It was about efficiency.

Well if I needed anything to teach me how to use my dextirity stat correctly this was it.

Now I just have to find a knife or two and I'll be golden. However I don't think I could just walk in a store and buy one outright. I'll have to swipe one from either a store or the orphanage. Next I'll have to find a way to hide it, it was not like I could just put it in my shoe. Maybe I could somehow use my jacket for that but how the heck do I-

I paused.

[Crafting (C) (13/20)]

This had potential...

_______________

Crafting a hidden holster proved harder than I thought.

[Crafting (C) Has leveled up! (17/20).]

It gave me some levels though so it was fine.

I have been trying to sew or somehow craft a holster out of tied tissue which has been a midly succesful venture so far. If I was generous that is.

I side eyed the various torn or unmade tissue on my bed.

Definitely generous, there.

Right so it was a mostly complete failure but something good came out of it. I got some ideas while working that may help me later but tissue clearly won't cut it. I'll have to get leather of some kind to line the interior. Then I'll have to sew it to the jacket somehow.

I have no idea how I'll do that but I have time, where will I get the leather is the question. I'll probably just cut some brat's shoe, one of the bullies. They've acting up lately so I have to, once again, teach them their place here.

Spoiler it wasn't very high.

More ground level really.

I sighed, the grind won't be done by doing nothing. I'll think how to take care of that later.

_____________________

[Crafting (C) has evoleved into Crafting (Un)!

You have leveled up!]

"Yes!"

Finally I was done!

This took way too much time, there was just too much to know about crafting things. It was just so general a skill I had to look up books at the library. From weaving leaves to cutting branches and even making a shelter! Granted it won't protect anything more than a squirrel...

Maybe a kitten too, if I was lucky.

Still progress is progress and it wasn't like I didn't advance other skills.

[Name: Ethan Shaw

Title: Traveler

Class: Thief (4/10); Rogue (5/5)

MP: 100

Stats

Agility: 14 - 18

Perception: 17 - 19

Wisdom: 12 - 14

Skills: Stealth (Un) (13/40)

Trapping (Un) (6/40)

Dagger arts (Un) (2/40)

Lockpicking (Un) (2/40)

Pickpocketing (Un) (1/40)

Crafting (Un) (1/40)

Throwing (Un) (10/40)

Coocking (C) (14/20)]

I have been focusing exclusively on Crafting so it wasn't weird that the others hadn't progressed that much. The only Skill standing out was Cooking.

This one hadn't leveled up in a long time and I suspect that was because of a lack variety in ingredients and recipes. There was only so many ways you could do porridge or oatmeal after all and doesn't trust me to do much more than that.

Not that she trusted the other ten year old any more than me.

Trapping on the other hand had been getting a workout because the boys hadn't taken kindly to being pranked on a regular basis and had put two and two together to realize I was the one after them. I didn't expect that of them so that was surprising. I thought I had months still until they began suspecting.

They weren't very bright.

Regardless, I have finished my holster! It wasn't very smooth and I'll probably have to repair it at some point but it was enough. It was sewed in the back of my jacket on the lower end. Not too low to be visible if I somehow fell on my face but not too high so that I could somewhat quickly get it. It was a bit awkward but I made it work.

And it was better to have it there than next to a pocket if decided to go through my room. It certainly wouldn't be the first time.

I had thus accomplished all of my current objectives for the short term. I could now focus on power leveling to get a new class.

Hehehe...

If I knew how to I would cackle but I sounded like a wheezing cat last time I tried.

_______________

*Two months later*

It had taken two whole months to max a tier II class.

If this was the case for a simple tier II class then I feared what higher tiered classes woul take. Something closer to a year probably.

Still what a beautiful sight...

[Name: Ethan Shaw

Title: Traveler

Class: Thief (10/10); Rogue (5/5); Pending...

MP: 100

Stats

Agility: 18 - 30

Perception: 19 - 25

Wisdom: 14 - 20

Skills: Stealth (Un) (30/40)

Trapping (Un) (16/40)

Dagger arts (Un) (7/40)

Lockpicking (Un) (19/40)

Pickpocketing (Un) (26/40)

Crafting (Un) (4/40)

Sense Treasure (Un) (3/40)

Sixth Sense (Un) (2/40)

Throwing (Un) (18/40)

Coocking (C) (14/20)]

*Click* Noice.

I was fucking fast now. I could go from zero to a hundred on a dime thanks to my dexterity while my agility and small frame let me zoom from one point to another like a cheetah on steroids.

Well maybe not that much but it was the thought that counted.

Perception was useful too, especially when looking for trouble or gambling. It let me stay on the top of my game and to read the other orphans clearly when we played. It was particularly useful when we played cards. Although I couldn't rack in too much or they would think I was cheating.

Which I totally was! But better to not let them know that and I could still cream them without cheating so it was fine.

The face they made when I won...

I stopped giggling before somebody thought I was a creep.

They probably thought it anyway but it better not to add fuel to the fire.

Back on track though. I had received another skill at level 6 as well as 9 which were Sixth Sense and Sense Treasure. Both were useful, SS surprisingly helped me sense when people were about to catch me and ST was useful in knowing who had money or who was broke.

Also useful to know where people hid their things too. It was like an intuition or a smell, I can't really describe it. What was a first is the fact it used mana. Very little mind you, but surprising all the same.

Now though... Unlimited power awaits!

[Choose a class: Fighter Magician Gambler]

No direct upgrade to Thief?

I would have thought something like Assassin would have followed considering the normal RPG class tree. Maybe I didn't meet the requirement? Would I need something like a poison making skill?

Bummer.

I couldn't do anything about it now so I'll have to think about it later unfortunaly. This was still an occasion to celebrate so I'll eat the candy I... acquired later.

The two obvious choices to me would be Magician and Gambler. Fighter was out because I have my knife now. Magician because magic and Gambler because it wasn't there with the tier I classes at first.

A tier II class then? Although I have no idea what the stat distribution and Skill List will be. It was a bit of a risk but that was what made it important, I could learn new things about the Game and that was important to plan my path.

You know what? Let's keep the good things for later, I will focus on my rogue path. Maybe it'll unlock another class?

[Congratulation! You are now a Gambler (1/5)!

You have unlocked the Skill Cold Read (Un) (1/40)

Cold Read: This is a set of techniques used by mentalists, psychics, fortune-tellers, and mediums. Without prior knowledge, a practiced cold-reader can quickly obtain a great deal of information by analyzing the person's body language, age, clothing or fashion, hairstyle, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, level of education, manner of speech, place of origin, etc. during a line of questioning. Cold readings commonly employ high-probability guesses, quickly picking up on signals as to whether their guesses are in the right direction or not, then emphasizing and reinforcing chance connections and quickly moving on from missed guesses.

You have chosen a profession! Professions are classes that reward little, if any, stats and the Skill List is unavailable for those. Instead you get predetermined Skills adapted to your class in a random order. In exchange class and skill levels are much easier to level up!

Gambler: How could you user... Stealing, pranking and now gambling? What sort of scoundrel are you exactly? What will it be next, alcoholism or maybe... H-handholding?! You degenerate! Gamblers are flashy, loud and greedy but most of all they are charismatic. They know who to hit in a game, how to read them, know what makes them tic and how to swindle anyone of their hard-earned money and make them come back for more. Gives +1 charisma per level.]

Wall of text much?