Another Vow

After waking up from her impromptu nap, Anabelle tried to stretch only to have her back seize and give, 'Why me?!'

Staying in bed, Annabelle recalled how she was trying to tell Thane something, 'I was able to gain three levels just by training for a few hours. So the way someone gains levels is proportionate to the amount they learn and the level of skill they display. But that's only in my case. What about someone like Thane? I need to talk to him later about what skills he has gained.'

Turning over in her bed, Annabelle yawned, "Whatever, he can wait. I need to focus on surviving tomorrow."

---

Thane sighed in boredom as he looked at Sonya, who was sleeping with her head resting against the bar counter. Finishing off the bottle in his hand, Thane set down the bottle with the rest of the pile.

"This is becoming a real problem," No matter how hard he tried, Thane wasn't able to keep a buzz for more than three minutes before it faded away. Grabbing his hair in frustration, he wanted to scream, 'Maybe I should make my own, even if I have to ferment paper, I will get drunk.'

Sighing, Thane stood up and turned to the bartender, "Put it on her tab." The man nodded, allowing Thane to walk away guilt-free, 'Now what should I do?'

Deciding to look around his temporary abode Thane walked past Sonya's room until a sharp smell made him cringe. It was similar to the Alchemy Store but much more intense, with nothing else to do. Thane followed the scent until he stopped in front of a solid iron door with a glass panel that was supposed to give one a glimpse into the room but was stained with black soot.

When Thane knocked on the door, an irritated voice responded, "What the hell did I say about interrupting me!!"

The door slammed open, and a hunched-over figure glared up at Thane, "Who the hell are you!?" The person who answered the door was an old woman who walked with the support of a cane. Her hair was stark white, and her face was covered with wrinkles, but her eyes were sharp and focused.

"Just a guy trying to figure out who's trying to gas out the whole Chapter." The woman huffed, "If Lilith sent you tell her I need more time to find a way to replicate the poison."

Thane's nose twitched as he sniffed out an opportunity, "Lilith didn't send me, but I think we can both help each other out."

"If I were still in my sixties, I would have you wrapped around my finger. Alas, I have no time for a tumble in the sheets." Thane snorted, "No thanks, I was talking about your apparent poison problem."

The Alchemist snorted, "What am I supposed to believe that you're some prodigy? No one in Heartwood can even come close to my level of skill."

Thane turned up the charm, "Of course, but I do have a specific set of skills that allow me to identify any poison and its ingredients once I ingest one dose."

The Alchemist narrowed her eyes, "Why should I believe you?" Thane shrugged, "I would be willing to take a Vow if that's what it takes."

"That's not a small thing to propose. What do you ask for in return?" The elderly woman stared at Thane as if trying to gauge him, "From your earlier boosting, you must be a master in your field. I want you to teach me everything you know about Alchemy."

Pounding her cane on the floor, she cackled, "You really are a bold one. Fine, I accept your proposal. If you can tell me the ingredients of five poisons of my choosing, I will let you become my apprentice."

Thane smiled, "I, Thane Macedon, accept your proposal, with the Realms as a witness." The words seem to come from deep within him, and Thane spoke them before realizing what he was saying.

[Notice: Start]

You have entered an Agreement with: Helga Lin. Breaking this agreement will incur the wrath of the Realms and automatically grant Helga Lin everything on your person.

You have been warned!

[Notice: End]

"I thought so. You're one of the Ascender brats who dropped in out of nowhere." Helga's sharp bark of laughter echoed off the stone walls, "Well then, Thane, follow me, and I'll see if there is something actually behind that smile."

Thane followed Helga into her workshop, walking past the tables with different instruments, none of which Thane recognized to a large shelf that occupied an entire wall.

Using a latter, Helga navigated the shelves swiftly, taking out several vials before dropping back to the ground. "Here you go, now hurry up. I don't have all day."

Thane took the vials that Hegla shoved into his arms before shrugging and taking all the stoppers off and ingesting all five poisons at once.

Looking at Helga, Thane smiled, "You don't happen to have an antidote. Otherwise, I might die." Helga muttered an expletive before hobbling on her cane over to the worktable, "What is wrong with you!"

Thane ignored the notice tell him he was poisoned, "My power only works if I take a dose of the poison I want to identify. Though I could survive one, I think taking all of them at once was a little bold of me."

Helga continued to berate Thane as she hobbled around the room, gathering ingredients before preparing them. While she would grind some into fine dust and others, she would boil in water.

When she was done, Helga gathered the prepared ingredients and threw them into a large bronze cauldron. What happened next surprised Thane as a bright purple flame appeared in her hand.

The alchemist then threw the fire at the cauldron, causing it to float in the air above the purple fire. Using her cane Helga started to stir the pot, but Thane's eyes began to grow heavy.

Just before his eyes closed, Thane felt someone grab his chin, forcing his mouth open before a burning hot liquid filled his mouth. Swallowing the first on sheer instinct, Thane couched, "Stupid boy, do you understand how close you were to dying?"

Thane looked at his health, "Actually pretty far from it, none of the poisons were lethal." Helga snorted, "Of course they were. Lethal poisons are rare and hard to make. There is no way I would waste them on the likes of you."

"Salamanders Tongue, Dream Lichen, Geinsing, Sap of the Paratree, and Ulwin Bark." Thane spoke of the unfamiliar items as he read the notification of the poisons he had eaten.

Helga looked at Thane, "How? All of those potions I created myself, there's no way you would know their recipes."

Thane smiled, "Since I'm your apprentice, I guess I can trust you." Helga scowled, "I'm able to identify poisons by ingesting one dose."

"That's a risky ability to have. You must have some innate poison resistance to make use of it." The way Helga phrased her question was more of a statement. Thane smirked, "Maybe, maybe not. Anyways, where is that poison you wanted me to identify?"

Helga laughed in a way that lacked humor, "The poison I'm trying to crack is of at least Rare Quality. Unless you have complete immunity, there is no way you can survive."

Thane paused, "So why did you agree to teach me?" Helga looked at him for a long second, "Because I was bored." Understanding where she was coming from, Thane didn't press her any further.

"So I'm your apprentice. When do I start making poisons?" Helga jumped and rapped Thane on the forehead with her cane, "Impatient, today you leave my workshop. You have already stolen too much of my time. Now go, or I'll have you cleaning out my vials for weeks."

Thane winced as there was a surprising amount of force behind the cane, and when he checked, his eyes widened when he saw his health had dropped by five points.

Looking at Helga in a new light, Thane didn't have a comeback and left her shop, flinching as the heavy metal door slammed behind him just as he stepped past the doorway.

Yawning, Thane still felt some lingering effects from the potion opening the door to his room. Annabelle was sitting on her bed with a book in her lap, "You shouldn't read like that. You'll have back problems when you're older."

Annabelle's head snapped up, "Oh, you're back. How did your test go?" Thane sat down across from her with a smile, "I aced it, of course, but that's the least interesting thing that's happened to me today."

Annabelle sat up in interest, "Oh? Care to tell a friend?" Thane quickly gave Annabelle a rundown of the bet he made with Sonya and Helga and what he had gained. When she heard about the possibility of getting a mana crystal, Annabelle's heart started to beat faster.

"I discovered something too that I wanted to tell you earlier, but I fell asleep," Annabelle admitted with a blush. After sharing her thoughts on how skills leveled, Thane realized that he hadn't gained any other skills for his weapons besides handguns.

"Now that you brought it to my attention. I haven't gained any levels in any weapons besides handguns." Annabelle sighed, "So I was wrong. It's not based on your skill."

Thane's brow furrowed, "This is starting to piss me off. Do I have to kill something to gain a skill level?" Annabelle shook her head, "Unless every case is different, you shouldn't have to."

Grabbing his karambit, Thane walked into the middle of the room and started to go through the forms he had learned, and when he reached the end, a prompt greeted him.

[Notice: Start]

You have gained the skill: Daggers Level 1-(+1% damage dealt by daggers, +1% to land a critical strike.)

[Notice: End]

Thane stared at the notification, "So when I display my skills within a certain field, I gain a level. I was only trained to use my daggers, not swords, so the Realm doesn't recognize it."

Annabelle nodded as the pieces started to fall into place, "So while in reality, your skill overall with blades carries over, the leveling system breaks it down into specific categories. For example, I gained the skill, One-Handed Weapons. If I were to use a dagger, I would have some carryover, but the Realms wouldn't grant me the skill until I trained it to a certain level."

Thane sighed, "I'm glad we figured that out, but something else has changed." Thane told Annabelle about how Lilith was part of a much bigger power that they couldn't even imagine.

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