Gathering (4)

Chapter 17 – Gathering (4)

As I watched Claudia, she stood on the stage and conjured a small fireball.

As I watched her, I endured the peppery sensation rousing in my eyes.

My eyes burned.

My eyes were reddened.

Tiny vessels were visible in the white of my eyes.

Yet, I couldn't take my eyes away from her. Not until she was done.

'Fuck!'

I clenched my jaws and grimaced, enduring the uncomfortable sensation.

Soon she was done and I blinked.

I've never thought that blinking would be so relieving.

Perhaps, it hurts because this event would be recorded as the first usage of my skill.

My mind had memories of me using my skill several times but my actual body was doing so for the first time.

I subtly rubbed my eyes, soothing the pain.

"Are you okay, man?" Bright asked, having noticed how I was rubbing my eyes for some seconds now.

No answer.

After a few more seconds passed, I looked at him with my right eye almost completely red and the left slightly reddening as I confidently smiled.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

Bright furrowed his brows. Obviously, he didn't believe my reply but he could dispute it so he shrugged and faced forward.

I covered my right eye with my hand and looked forward.

'Now for Theo,' I said in my head as I slowly gasped from the just concluded strain I had to endure.

"Theo Ferron," the Instructor called the young man forward after Claudia returned to the line.

The handsome young man brushed his permed black hair as he stepped closer to the Instructor.

Like the rest before him, he placed his hands on the Tablet and it turned grey, signifying that he was moving to the next station.

After a short conversation with the Instructor, Theo stepped back for a demonstration of his ability and of course, I was still watching.

Theo folded his hands into fists, clenching them a bit too hard as he gritted his teeth. A second later, a deep grey substance manifested around his wrists like a band.

From his wrists, they travelled both forwards and backwards at the same time, covering his entire hands and going up his forearms until they reached his shoulder and extended beyond it a little bit.

Immense struggle was evident on Theo's face as he struggled to get the substance beyond his shoulder but couldn't and eventually gave up.

"That's alright," the Instructor said as he recorded it on his tablet.

Cough~ Cough~!!

I dropped to my knee in shock as I started to cough, prompting Bright and Casandra to immediately crouch to my aid.

"Are you okay, Luke?" Casandra asked in a worried tone.

My heart had skipped several beats and my entire body felt a surge of painful impulses in an instant that caused me to lose my balance.

The strain of [Jack of all Trades] was a lot for my current body to bear. Of course, I did eventually get used to it in the past but right now, it seems I have to make plans of doing that earlier in this lifetime.

I held Casandra's hand that she placed on my shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

"Your eyes, Luke!" she blurted out in shock. "They are red."

"I'm fine," I said, shaking my head. "Don't worry. I'm just a bit sick with a severe headache."

"You are not okay, Luke."

"I agree with Casandra, man," Bright added. "You don't look okay at all."

"I said I am fine," I sternly stated as I managed to stand back up.

Bzzt~!!

[You have acquired a new skill]

[Skill: Iron Body]

I had done it.

I had registered a second skill for the day and that was good. But I had also reached my limit for the day. Thanks to the stage that I was at, I couldn't do more than two in a day.

I remained still, trying to calm myself as Bright and Casandra's words went through one ear and out of the other.

When they noticed that I wasn't paying attention to them anymore, they stopped and left me alone. For Bright, I knew he'd give up but with Casandra, I wasn't going to hear the end of it.

But nothing a Choco! Chocolate Bar won't solve with her.

I chuckled inwardly.

Bzzt~!!

'Status.'

—––

Name: Lucas Enstar

Skill: [Jack of all Trades]

Stage: Ore Stage [Initial]

Essence: 56/200

—––

Strength: 16

Agility: 16

Focus: 24

—––

'Skill details.'

—––

Skill: [Jack of all Trades]

Skills Acquired: 6/10

—––

Abandoning what was happening in the present, I drifted away in thought as I gazed upon my status window. In the course of ten days, I had managed to acquire six skills from different persons while those had been easy because no one knew what kind of Skill I possessed, it was a painful process; one that required that I use eyedrops like I had done a few seconds ago.

Also from my calculations and speculations, I should be ahead in Essence points, making me the closest to the Intermediate Step of the Ore Stage. Simply put, I had used the advantages at my disposal to become the strongest among the recruits currently.

However, I am not neglecting the possibility that some recruits may have figured out how to gather Essence on their own, especially those birthed into strong Hunter Families like the Kentons, Embertons and the Crows.

"Seraphina Crow."

"Casandra Enstar."

"Lucas Enstar."

…

I suddenly felt a nudge on my shoulder that snapped me back to reality.

"Huh? What?"

Bright kissed his teeth and looked at me worryingly.

"They've called you, man."

Realising immediately what had happened, I hurried towards the stage. Luckily for me, Seraphina and Casandra were yet to reach the platform, leaving me a few metres to catch up.

Seraphina walked forward and registered her Skill. As a member of the Crow Family, her Skill had not been a surprise.

A Transformation Skill that allows her to disperse her body into multiple crows, whose number is dependent on what she wants. It was impressive and somewhat sorted for espionage as her senses were linked to the black birds in the case of a partial transformation.

Casandra, on the other hand, had a beautiful Skill that allowed her to manipulate ice.

When she performed her demonstration of her Skill called [Dead of Winter], everybody was left in awe at the beauty of the shapes she had formed from ice.

Even the unruly Eric Marvice and the few stern-faced Instructors couldn't help but break character and smile.

"Hihihi," she laughed sheepishly, her face turning rosy as she hurried back to where we stood in the line.

I heaved a sigh since it was my turn. Left to me, I didn't want to do this but I had no choice.

I stepped forward and placed my hand on the Tablet and it gave a positive response.

"What is your Skill?" the Instructor asked.

Wasting no second, I gave him an answer that had come from several analyses of Skills which led to choosing one Skill that would benefit me for the longest time since I have to openly stick with whatever skill I mentioned.

"Super strength and beastly transformation" I answered. "Nothing as fancy as hers."

"Double Skills? Hmm," the Instructor breathed as he scratched his chin and looked at German and Eric.

Imitating him, I looked at the Head Instructor and his Deputy as well to gauge their narration. Surprisingly, only Eric seemed impressed even though I was certain that they understood the message that was passed.

'Tch,' I snorted in my heart.

Commending Casandra's exhibition, I alternated my gaze between her and the Instructor's.

"Can we get a demonstration?"

I bobbed my head and then took about five steps away from the Instructors.

Taking in two deep breaths as I shut my eyes, I spread out my fingers as they slowly extended beyond the tips, becoming small claws.

The tone of my muscles increased as they tensed and hardened more than they usually were. The transformation was beginning.

However, I couldn't keep it up for quite long as the moment my eyes turned from blue to golden, I felt my heart pound loudly.

Thump~ Thump~!!

With that loud pounding, I was forced out of the incomplete transformation as I lowered my body and gasped for air.

"I see."

The Instructor opened his device and inputted some details.

All the while, I had my eyes on Terence as he stood in front. I wanted to know if I was someone worth his while but I couldn't get any reaction from him.

I couldn't say if he was disappointed or impressed.

For some reason, it made me feel bitter inside.