Trash: Chapter 97 New Day New Skill (Monday) (Patreon)

Chapter 97

New Day New Skill

(Monday)

The rest of the weekend was mostly a blur. After getting home and healing Lucia’s right hand, I stopped for the night and went to bed. Barely noticing how Lucia and Luna were escorted to a different house entirely closed off from the outside and used to house dignitaries and the like, which Lucia and Luna technically were.

On Sunday I woke up late, comforted by the fact that the tournament would be cancelled a day early. All winners were to receive their cash prizes for each match won, but no grand prize winners would be able to claim any of the prizes. Which was fine for me, as I was done fighting, or being inspired by the different methods of fighting with Skills that were available. By now I had a fairly good idea of what exactly I wanted to do, where I needed to improve upon and how to force my body to accept the Skills I wanted to practice.

That is how I found myself forced into exercises with Mr. Yi upon my immediate awakening. I had asked for food, but that was only available for people that woke up on time. It seems that even exhaustion is no true excuse for why you would miss mealtimes. Despite my lack of food, I managed to go on, it wasn’t the first time I had missed a meal, and Mr. Yi was adamant that we ate lunch, a reprieve I was extremely thankful for.

While I no longer needed to practice with my Improvised Weapons, I had hoped that I would get a new weapons form available. A new weapons form that would help me use swords better and hopefully help me channel Holy energy into the blade. Mainly I wished for a way to channel Holy energy that did not involve my singing directly over the area I wished to affect.

Apparently, I was not the only one who had concerns about my Divine Music Resonance Skill being blatantly obvious as, Madame Bloom made it a point to grab me after lunch and choose an instrument that I would begin to practice with.

This was when I was given the ultimate irony of life. Despite hours of swinging and practicing precise movements with my practice sword, I never unlocked another weapon or blade related Skill. For a moment it looked and felt that my surge of Skills was at a standstill, that I would likely have to wait a while for my mind and body to synchronize enough to allow a new Skill to fit into one of my two Free slots remaining. That we had sadly missed my training window, provided by my new Class and that I would have to wait a long time to learn new Skills to grind, and be stuck at my current progress until my mind and body were ready to move on with my next evolution.

“It happens,” Madame Bloom commented. “Sometimes Skills take a long time to manifest in people. Some say it might be a mentality. That if you wish to learn a Skill, a deeper part is the want to learn to do whatever that Skill is related to.”

Her words were somewhat comforting. In a way it made sense, I had met my peak and now it was clearly ending. That is partly why I felt so drained even now. My Skills had rocketed upwards during the mad dash that was apparently expected with a class selection, it still felt deflating once that surge was over. Now I was just left with the aftermath, which was likely worse. The fact that I now knew what I was technically capable of, without being able to do it.

As we walked from the dining hall through the east wing, down to the parlor, I kept my head on a swivel, constantly looking for Lucia and Luna, though if I was being honest I really only cared about finding Luna. I would walk past shadows and swear that I would see streaks of her dark hair glistening from the light.

“You looking for the Duchesses?” Madame Bloom asked. Hearing her question, I was caught off guard, as I had no clue what their titles were. Nor did I even know that they had proper titles to begin with.

“Do you mean Lady Luna and Lady Lucia?” I asked, trying to clarify.

“Yes,” Madame Bloom responded with a faint smile forming on her lips.

“Well then, yes. I had hoped to find them so that I might practice some more.” I replied, veiling my true thoughts behind a task that would all but force me to be close to both of them. Even if for a moment, it would be worth it, especially if they would remember me after this was over. Yet, knowing that they were royalty and that they might end up owing me a favor, I thought that would be better. My logical mind told me that it would be a good thing, but I didn’t want them to owe me a favor because they were royalty. I didn’t want them to owe me a favor at all, I would rather be with two people who I had oddly grown attached to over the last few days.

“Don’t worry, you will have your chance to heal them. But for now, they are taking measures to ensure their own protection.”

“Their own protection?” I parroted, and for a moment I paused wondering if I would get hit with the annoying game, but fortunately it seemed that only Markan appreciated that type of low humor.

“Yes, I can’t go too much into the details of what they are doing, as that is their decision. But right now, the most important thing is that they have options and are given time to think about those options and choose the one that suits them best,” she replied. While I still didn’t know exactly where or what they were doing, nor what their options were, I was glad that Madame Bloom was clearly looking out for them and giving them time to think.

Even now, I could only imagine what it would be like to go through what they have. To be royalty one moment, to having their entire family and country taken out from under them. Then to flee and rely solely on the kindness of one former soldier from their employment, only to find that that very person who protected them was the initial cause for why their family fell in the first place. It was truly sad, and hard to imagine even now. Perhaps it was a good thing that I was not around, as it might not allow them both time to think about what they should do for their futures.

Thinking about it, I could see just how intelligent Madame Bloom is in all things. Also, the fact that she has me immediately going from one task to the next makes it so I will be less likely to get distracted and try to seek out Lucia and Luna right now. That is how I oddly find my emotional thoughts and concerns for Lucia and Luna both dissipate. While I could spend time thinking about their issues, and what they might or might not do with their futures, ultimately it is out of my hands. Which is why finding ways to mask myself and the fact that I now spit golden motes of energy when I sing powerfully is suddenly one of my top priorities.

Heading into the parlor, Madame Bloom first takes me into a side room that I had somehow thought of as a coat and hat room. Yet, going inside I was oddly put off by the fact that there were rows upon rows of different instruments. There were brass reed instruments, what looked like flutes, and finally the wall that all but called out to me. The wall with violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. As if called, the same way that I now felt drawn to my blunted practice sword over even true metal swords, I found myself walking immediately towards the violins. There was deep brown violin, a cherry red violin, and finally a dark black violin. For a moment I went to the cherry red violin, but just before I reached out and touched it and its accompanying bow, I instead felt my hand veer off and grab the dark black violin. A dark black violin with golden accents where the cords were attached to the wood. Wood that I could tell was not painted, but was naturally that shade of color. Almost as if the wood for that violin had been grown specifically to craft into one perfectly formed instrument, an instrument that all but called out to me.

Maybe it’s because I’m still gothic at heart, or maybe I am more DiVoratore than I care to admit, but that black violin called out to me in ways I could no describe. Just picking it up, I felt a surge and thrum of energy fill me, as I knew this was the instrument meant for me. Then as if the system read my mind, I was hit with a Skill option, an option that was both perfect in that it hit my need, and also tragic in that it showed that I was not meant for the sword.

New Skill Possible: Stringed Instrument (Violin) Specialization (Rare): Brief Description: After mastering the fundamentals of music, you have show a proclivity for Stringed Instruments with an initial specialization with the Violin.

Seeing the Skill, I once again was impressed by how open the Skill was. While the specialization was for the Violin, the Skill focused on improving my understanding of all stringed instruments, meaning I could learn the viola, cello, or even double bass if time permitted. Then an even deeper thought hit me, as I realized I was being too small with my thoughts as I was fairly certain that this Skill would allow for learning the guitar, bass, and other similarly stringed instruments as well, making the Skill even better than I originally expected. That is why I accepted the Skill without hesitation.

New Skill Accepted: Stringed Instrument (Violin) Specialization (Rare):

A continuation of understanding music, focusing on stringed instruments with a specialization in the Violin identified.

Stringed Instrument (Violin) Specialization: Str, Dex, Sta, Per, Int (+0.03 per level)

The Skill clicking into place in my mind as my bow touched the strings and helped me to strum out my first few notes. Having been in Madame Voyou’s class, I was more than aware of the different instruments, our fingering required for those instruments, and how to generally make music with those instruments. That was why, what happened next was part muscle memory, and part pure joy at being allowed to finally practice on my own. Not just on my own, but without having to tune out all the other discordant notes made by the other band class members and focus solely on my notes.

I don’t even remember opening my eyes and casually walking my way out of the musical storage room and going into the parlor. All I truly remember was the way I would walk around the room, until I found the perfect musical location, one that echoed the notes back to me and allowed me to hear my mistakes in near real time.

Notes played and bounced around, each carrying energy and resonance. A resonance that I found I could add to whenever I wanted with my Divine Musical Resonance Skill, but notes that I didn’t need to adjust in such a way. In a way, it felt like a cheat mechanism. One moment I was playing normal, the next each note was filled with holy and life imbued energy that could flow out, expand and latch onto everything in the immediate area. The life energy was a byproduct of my Class that seemed to infuse Life energy into every magical Skill I had. Which made this a little easier to deal with, for the Life energy infused my body fixing any sore muscles or ligaments that were not used to such strenuous actions. While my Golden Life Ratio Mana Regeneration* Skill helped to make sure I was full of as much mana as needed for my practicing.

I practiced, letting the enchanted notes flow out and concentrate into specific areas, or spread wide and hit everything around me. Then I would watch and wait as the notes would dissolve at different times and frequencies. It wasn’t until later, when I realized, it was related to my passion, to my own emotional investment into the piece that the magic lasted longer, the imbued notes were just crisper and easier to resonate with. And somehow that resonation lasted just a tick longer than notes that I played for the sake of just meeting a memorized note on sheet music.

Granted I didn’t know many songs, but the ones I did know I played. I even tried to mirror the sounds and effects that Madame Voyou had created during her mini-concert and on our excursion. Within ten minutes I was sweating. By thirty minutes my clothes were mostly soaked, only a liberal application of Trash kept my clothes from clinging to my skin in a desperate plea to get me to stop. But it wasn’t until after I played the music I felt for my own song, a song that I was still building, still composing within my mind.

Finally, I stopped, letting my bow glide ever so slightly across the strings causing a glissando slide in pitch. It was close, but nowhere near what I needed or wanted from the song.

Clap, clap, clap.

Yet it was only then after I had stopped that I realized I had an audience that had gathered. Turning around, I was surprised to see that not one, but six people had apparently gathered to watch me. Markan, Mr. Yi, and Pierre were apparently the last to arrive as they were all standing towards the back. Meanwhile Madame Bloom, Lucia, and Luna were sitting in a row of seats that had been conveniently placed near the side wall to watch as I moved around and made a fool of myself.

“How long were you all here?” I asked.

“Long enough to see you getting better about controlling when and where to apply Holy energy,” Madame Bloom commented. “Now, that you are finally done, perhaps you can start to prune away the dead skin that you caused to appear on our guests.”

As she spoke, my stomach dropped, as I saw the aftermath of what I had done. As I had previously seen the obfuscation Skill that Lucia and Luna both used to hide their rotting patches of skin was gone and replaced by visible layers of dead skin.

To my horror, the patches of dead skin were not limited to Lucia and Luna, as Pierre also had visible signs of scarring present on his body.

Like that, I knew it was going to be a long night, for I would have to at least treat these first layers of Skin and have the rot removed entirely from everyone. Despite not having time to properly perfect my re-calcification process, of infusing Life energy into the rotted and worn away bones and muscles and replacing them with healthier cells.

That was how I found myself staggering exhaustedly to my room. Only managing to eat and drink at Markan and Mr. Yi’s insistence.

Then waking up the next day, I barely got up early enough, to put on a newly made school uniform, grab some breakfast from the Bloom estate, and run straight to school, forgetting my deal with Ronaldo, due to being too tired to get up on time. That was how I knew it was already going to be a bad day.

It wasn’t until I got to the school steps and saw Narco and his master Mr. Wallace smiling devilishly at me that I knew something was up. Then upon entering the school and seeing a bright golden light shining from inside, I knew this would not go well for me.