Trash: Chapter 141 Dirty Skills (Patreon)

Chapter 141

Dirty Skills

Rising from the ground, my legs felt like strained taffy, wobbly and seeming to bend with any pressure. Fortunately, the guardsmen were there, to offer an arm for me to brace myself. Bone chips and dislodged skull fragments pierce my head like a jagged crown of thorns. Feeling the pain, my body begins doing tasks naturally, casting Streamline Healing* to mend my nose and the puncture wounds to my forehead. Then I use my Trash Skill to remove the bone fragments, and blood traces that might remain from my battle. In the end, the process is so seamless that I can complete it automatically, despite being dizzy and clearly exhausted. I take this as a good sign, even though I do momentarily need help to stand up. Reaching out, I grab the offered arm long enough to steady myself, before realizing where I was and what was now expected of me.

I had done a lot, and my body was already feeling the strain from having used my seals so often in rapid succession. Once again, I was reminded of their noted limitations as pointed out by Mr. Yi. They were a crutch, one that provided immediate support but would stagnate you, and deplete your resources if you weren’t careful. Meaning, I needed to get better with my regular Skills and their everyday uses if I wanted to truly become powerful enough to stand on my own.

Then standing to my full height, I removed my hand, not wanting to appear weak in front of so many people. This was a habit I learned from my time at the DiVoratore Estate, never appear weak, for you will only make yourself more of a target. That is why I immediately shirked off the help, once I was standing and ready to move on my own.

For a moment, I wanted to turn, to look and see if there were more threats that had yet to be dealt with, but that is when something deep within the earth rose up and let me know that I could rest. That all the unnatural entities had been dealt with. Still, I didn’t fully trust this new sense, causing me to turn, that’s when I saw Mr. Yi standing over the corpse of a dissolving Death Eater, only crumpled bones and ash lay at his feet. There were others as well, because these were the elites that had been called in to help and the vast majority of those that been called to help provide support.

Taking a moment to gather myself, my wrist is gently grabbed by the Chief, as he raises my hand high over my head.

“Your hero healer survives!” Chief Lightken cries out, his voice booming out, over the crowd. Causing most of the panic to subside long enough for the guardsmen and Mr. Yi to do their part and destroy the remains of the slain Death Eaters.

It looked like Mr. Yi had managed to take out three or four on his own, while the increased guards did their part working as units and taking out a few others as well.  Seeing the work of the others, and realizing the spire would have protected my fellow healers, I realized that I might have moved too quickly. But rather than be called out by such an act, Chief Lightken instead decided to draw attention to me. Looking out over the crowd, I could see recognition in the faces of those who were nearby. I almost wonder why, when I realize that over half of my face is now exposed thanks to the slash I took earlier. Giving the people enough to see that I was a female and that my hair was shock white and pale skin that mark me as one of the DiVoratore line.

“That’s her,” a few say to each other.

“The Arena healer,” others reply back, but their voices are overshadowed by a loud outpouring of everyone echoing back the name used by Chief Lightken.

“Hero Healer!”

Just hearing the name, I feel my senses cringe, and am about to protest, but that’s when I get distracted by the very earth beneath my feet.

Psychic tremors rumble out from the ground. On an instinctive level, I know this is the earth attuning to me and letting my senses synchronize with its own abilities. The tremors are the earth’s way of letting me know that quite a few people are fleeing. While it was not unexpected for people to use the moment to flee given the horrors and dangers that had been unleashed a moment ago. I did find it odd that the earth seemed to highlight a few specific people to my mental senses.

Focusing on one near and brightly pulsing anomaly, I turned to look where the earth all but screamed at me to pay attention to one specific entity. Turning to face the highlighted fleeing target, I paused for at the exact moment I caught sight of the fleeing cloaked individual, that same target turned to face me as well.

We stood there, peering what felt like eye-to-eye, though we were separated by a few hundred meters or more. Even wearing a mask, I could feel his intense gaze upon me, even as people ran through and past my line of sight.

Watching him, I saw how his eyes seemed to glow with an intense pinkish-purple light that all but called out in familiarity to me.  Then, with my still glowing divinely powered golden eyes, I saw something that made my stomach turn in nauseous horror.  For there rolling around like a stain of sentient oozing oil was a burbling mass that my senses instantly noted as a Death Eater. A Death Eater that also seemed to feel my stare for as it paused and then turned to face me, with a deep tissue filled face. A face that I now understood to be a more powerful and evolved version of the Death Eaters. Seeing the shadow broil under my intense gaze, I realized why I was being drawn to see this person, they were one of the attackers who were using the tension to break.

For a moment, I thought about pulsing energy into my legs, infusing my body with energy from my Life Reinforced Movements* Skill, but I paused. Taking just step forward to ready myself, I felt a wave of dizziness and exhaustion fill me, as I tried to push myself forward, to strike out this enemy that was at least as powerful as the last monster I fought. Then as if sensing the danger, the masked person turned and ran off into the distance.

“You okay?” The voice of Chief Lightken called out, his voice pulling me from my momentary distraction.

Hearing his words, I nodded, then pointing off towards where the masked assailant fled, “that masked man, we need to catch him.”

Looking where I was pointing, Chief Lightken paused as he tried to see where I was pointing. For a moment it looked like he wanted to tell me it was futile, that the person was already gone, but after staring into my still glowing eyes, he seemed to see my resolve. That I would chase him down myself if that was what was required.

“I’ll send some of my guards after him,” Chief Lightken cried out, then turning to some of the other gathered guards who helped pin down the evolving Death Eater, he commanded, “go follow that cultist and see where they go to.”

“Sir,” the guards called out, pounding their chest in acknowledgement, before heading off in the direction indicated.

Seeing that I was being taken seriously, I nodded my respect.

“Now, if there is nothing further, will you go back with the others?” Chief Lightken began, his tone placating as he gestured for me to join the others in the still glowing and fully protected spiral structure. “I have a feeling this will be a trial unlike any others that we have seen to this point.”

I nodded, then after taking one step, I felt a wave of exhaustion hit me. I was both hungry and tired, though my body was quickly fighting through the wave of exhaustion, I still felt an intense burning hunger fill me. Which I knew would only grow the longer this whole ceremony lasted.

Fortunately, the open slit in my veil helped make the walk back to the spire a bit easier as I didn’t have to look between webbings to find where I should place my foot next. Though, there was something else at play, as I could feel something deep within me awakening and connecting me to the earth beneath my feet.

With each stride forward, I felt a tingling pulse of energy course from me and to the earth, then reverberate back to my mind letting me know that everything was okay. With each step, I felt a deep resonating connection binding me to the earth. This was a connection that I had been feeling for some time now, but this time the system seemed to acknowledge the change with me and seemed to provide a name and a brief description for what I was now feeling.

New Skill Possible: Earth Resonation* (Epic): Brief Description: You sense what the earth around you senses and more. Requires Earth Affinity

Just seeing that new Skill caused my heart to beat faster, as I could almost hear a drum like cadence of the earth calling to me. All but begging me to take it as a Skill. My first Skill offered since freeing up the spot, only to find out that it would be a massive commitment of time and Skill levels, but that was fine as it seemed to be one I could grow into and help me grow to be more capable. I was already seeing the limitations with my current training level, as I barely managed to take down an evolving Death Eater. I cringed at the idea of having to face a fully evolved Death Eater, like the one I thought I saw fleeing with a cultist.

 Still, this was an Epic rated Skill that required an Earth Affinity, meaning that one of my precious slots for magic oriented Skills would be taken. Something that had been finite before, and something to worry about. Only I knew for a fact that there were ways to push one’s magical affinity. I had done so myself via a quest. That and I knew that visiting this statue, and ones like it could possibly allow for similar results, albeit at astronomical prices. Still, this wasn’t a finite resource. Or at least not as finite of a resource as I had originally thought. That and the fact that I had only used up a total of seven of my current 14 slots available meant I still had some time before I would need to worry about consequences. Yes, one of those slots would be for my Healing class Skill. Then even factoring in the fact that a second-class Skill would also take up a vaunted affinity Skill Slot, that would put me at 10 of 14, if I accepted this Skill. Then there was also the fact that this was a unique Skill, and that all but sealed the deal for me.

Realizing that I could have a long time to second guess myself later, but only one time to pick a Skill that seemed to resonate with me. One that I had been feeling a connection to ever since I got out of the carriage this morning, and likely before that as well, I decided to take the Skill.

New Skill Accepted: Earth Resonation* (Epic): Requires Earth Affinity

The earth is more alive and active than most will ever realize, this Skill opens your mind to the constant stream of information available to those who choose to listen.

Cost: 1 Earth Affinity

Effect: Random Attribute unlocked.

Earth Resonation: Str, Dex, Sta, Per, Int, Resistance*, Mana (+0.04 per level)

Resistance*: That which comes from the earth cannot hurt those who truly accept the earth. Effects of poisons and venoms will be reduced in effectiveness.

Instantly, I felt alive as my brain began to take in the responses of the earth below me. For a moment it was almost too much for my mind to fully comprehend. Fortunately, after making my first step onto the spire, my deep connection to the earth ended. Then I found I was still under the influences of change happening, as the effects of the system were still taking place and slowly burning their way through my body, but it was far more muted and more subdued, creating a euphoric haze like effect to fill my mind.

That was how I found myself in a buzzed like state, making my way through the throng of healers, who all stared at me through my split veil in disbelief, before they parted to the sides, giving me a wide berth as I slowly made my way back to the top of the spire. Only once at the top, covered by the flowing flag of the empire did the people down below begin to cry out. Their words were blurred out by a sudden and needed gust of wind that helped to dry off some of the sweat that had been building up under my veil. I could remove the sweat with Trash, and likely will. But for this moment, I take the breeze as a sign that things are about to go better.

Looking down, I could hear Chief Lightken’s booming voice cry out once more, as he tried to get us all back on schedule.

“Now then, let us conclude this trial…”