Trash: Chapter 180 A Sixth Free Slot (Patreon)

Chapter 180

A Sixth Free Slot

“How exactly does your sight work?” I asked, wondering out loud the very question I’ve been bottling in for so very long.

Lelia to her credit just shrugged and replied with a simple, but sadly lacking, “I don’t know they just do.”

I wanted to know more, and Junior, Luna, and Lucia all had their go of trying to get more information out of the team’s one true permanent person. Well, permanent auxiliary team member, for she has already been invaluable. While I do like the idea of a hearty breakfast every day, so far Junior and Lelia have given me the exact same number of meals while here.

“I don’t know, they just do,” was Lelia’s reply to almost every form of question thrown at her about how her sight seemed to work. For a moment I wanted to argue with her, but that’s when I realized that she has likely been doing this alone without an instruction manual for years.

By comparison, my training at the DiVoratore estate was phenomenal compared to the attention she got. While I don’t remember most of my early years, I do know that I was trained to use my Spirit Sight at an early age. Then I was taught that I could evolve my sight Skill into a higher form, much like it is now at its Divine Sight stage. But I could only imagine how hard it would have been to have done all of that as a child on her own. Looking back, it might only be because of her harsh life that her eyesight changed in such a way. She needed a way to survive, and her eyesight evolved and adapted as needed.

But the more people questioned Lelia about her eyesight, the more I began to feel for her as she was so confident a moment ago, protecting our secrets by threatening Junior, to this meek persona that seemed to wilt under pressure. That’s when I stepped in to protect her.

“Enough, how her sight works doesn’t matter at this point, what does matter is if anyone has an open Skill slot that we can use this Skill Alterations Skill crystal on,” only pausing to think about the tongue-twister that I just released. Then I almost got lost in how the scientists at the SySTEM laboratory went about creating these skill crystals in the first place. As it looked like they took people, ground them up, and then were able to extract essences from the bodies. Essences that were then used to gradually create Skill, Enhancement, and Experience crystals that all hung as stalactites from the ceiling, or stalagmites from the ground. Suddenly I was back in the laboratory, where I could hear my boots squishing around in some type of liquid as I ran to protected Lt. Keller and the other ROW officers. Just thinking of them reminded me that we needed to get this over with.

“I can free up a skill slot, with two of these experience crystals,” Lucia noted, as she touched two of the fourteen experience crystals that had been sorted out. Those two were next to five enhancement crystals, the original four plus my one I just added, then finally, the one remaining skill crystal that wasn’t for Skill Alterations, which I had in my hand.

Just holding the crystal, I knew I wanted it, as I could see its value immediately. Just having it meant I would never have to look for an Arbiter, or other class that specializes in such actions. Instead, I could just work on improving my Skills to their maximum, and be done. In my mind I was already doing the math, as I would need to get this Skill from Rare to Legendary rank at the very least, if not Relic. Then looking at the stack of crystals before me, I did the math.

One Enhancement Crystal to go from Rare to Epic, a second to go from Epic to Legendary, and then finally a third and final Enhancement Crystal to go from Legendary to Relic. Because, if we were doing this, we were going all the way. Then another mental note told me that this would require 700 levels, or roughly seven of the Experience crystals to max out, which when adding in the Skill crystal itself would mean one of us would take 11 of the crystals, while leaving just eight experience crystals, two enhancement crystals, and one Skill crystal for the rest of the team. A huge sacrifice, but one that would be needed, as having our own Relic level Skill badger on the team would be priceless. Let alone the numeric advantage of having a Relic grade Skill badged for the team would put that person as their own powerhouse, as it would easily be a +0.07 increase for all seven hundred levels to the linked Attributes, which equated to at least a 49 point boost to all noted Attributes, without completion bonuses being applied.

Again, the only problem was that I was too greedy, taking every Skill possible, never imagining that such a moment would present itself. Then again, whoever thinks that they could become a Relic grade Arbiter if they just waited a few months for a moment to present itself. With a reluctant pause, I looked at my own Free Slotted Skills and saw the sad conclusion.

           Skill  |                      Maximum Rating| Current Rating

(Epic) Earth Resonation:                                   400 | 32

(Rare) Stringed Instrument (Violin) Specialization: 200 |  44

(Uncommon) Dance Specialization:                   100 |          19

(Rare) Divine Music Resonance:                     200 |               151

(Rare) Strategist*:                                200 |             137

My conclusion, I was close with both Divine Music Resonance, and Strategist*, but I wasn’t close enough. Meaning for me to get this Relic grade Skill, I would need to take an additional eighth Experience crystal, find an Arbiter in the middle of the night capable of badging my Skill without asking questions, which would likely require at least a ninth Experience crystal to then begin the process. Placing my total, not including my three free Enhancement crystals at a grand total of, 13 crystals just for me to be a Relic level Arbiter. While it was tempting, it was not something that I was willing to do, as we were a team and we would be better if we could do this as a team. That was why, I was going to sit this one out. Especially as I already had the bonus of trying to get that sensation back that came from having all of my Skills set to the same rating.

“I don’t know who couldn’t free up a Skill slot with two experience crystals, but the question remains, after those two are used, would you be able to badge your Skill, or would we need to find someone to badge that skill, which would be an additional cost to the team?” Junior asked Lucia, speaking the same issue I saw with my own wanting to use thirteen crystals to get this Relic grade Arbiter Skill that would provide at least 49 base Attributes, not including mana, which would be 70 points to the base Mana pool, before the additional 4.9 were added in for Intelligence, give a 74.9 minimum bonus to Mana. Gods, just thinking about this Skill sitting right there waiting to be claimed was enough for me to think I might need to find an Arbiter. With Marcus just outside the room, no doubt he would know someone we could pester at this time of night. But again that would all take time, which was something we didn’t have.

“Why should you get it?” Junior asked, I was so lost in my own thoughts that I apparently missed something that Lucia said in reply. As they all spoke, I could feel the mounting tension growing in the room, that was when I decided to step in, and put a stop to all of this bickering.

“Stop it! Just Stop!” I get out, not screaming, but with enough force and intent behind the words that everyone who was going to say something, stopped. Seeing that I had everyone’s attention, I decided to move things along.

“I’m going to say it that, right now the ROW officers and their leaders are meeting about what happened at the facility that Lelia found. Which means that right now, we have these crystals and that is fine. But there is no recourse for us, if they come back and determine that these crystals need to be confiscated in some way, shape, or form, which is why we need to focus and use them all as quickly and efficiently as possible,” I begin, and then turn to Lelia.

“You want two Experience Crystals, take two, that is fine. The way I see it, it is going to be best if we have one person take the Skill Alterations Skill, which will be Rare and immediately use three Enhancement Crystals to get its rating to Relic class. At which point they will need seven Experience crystals to fill out the Skill and make it a completed Relic grade Skill that the team will use,” as I speak, I am moving the noted crystals out and over. Placing first the Skill Alterations Skill crystal down into a pile. Then the three Enhancement crystals, and finally grabbing seven of the fifteen Experience crystals. As I move, I see everyone’s eyes follow my movements like I am moving gold bars before their eyes, which in a way I am. As these all have a strict monetary value, one that anyone can use and barter with, as the state artificially maintains the value of these crystals. The fact that the state cares so adamantly about the pricing and value of these crystals is exactly why I want to use these crystals as quickly as possible. It is this same knowledge that makes me thing we only have a limited amount of time to use these crystals freely, before we will be forced to re-earn them from the University.

“That makes for 11 of the 22 crystals that Lelia found, or roughly half. Which is an amazing haul, and worth more money than many house make in a year, which is why we need to use these to benefit us immediately. That is why, I don’t care who among you has a Free Slot, or open Class slot available, tell me now and you will automatically be in the running to get these 11 crystals, right now, no questions asked,” I declare looking at everyone of my teammates, only to see Luna, then Lucia, and finally Junior all turn away at my piercing gaze.

Seeing that no one has a slot, I am about to call Marcus back to see if he can enact plan B, which would be finding an Arbiter at this time of night to badge a Skill at this time of night, when Lelia speaks up, her timid voice piercing the awkward quiet that had taken over the room, “I have a free slot.”

At her comment, we all turn. Each of us looking at Lelia like she was both lucky and stupid. Lucky that she kept a Free Skill slot open all this time, and stupid for not filling a Free Skill slot earlier.

“You can?” I ask, then picking up the Skill Alterations Skill crystal, I hand it to her to see if she lying or not. Here in front of everyone, I want to see her prove that she can use the Skill crystal.

“Gasps,” to my surprise and the surprise of those around us, she takes the crystal, injects it with a smidge of her mana, and then we all watch as the crystal dissolves into the palm of her hand before being absorbed by osmosis, or the closest form of crystalline osmosis we will see in this lifetime.

There is a pause, as we all wait for the crystal to go away, and then I ask the question we are all waiting for, a question that Lelia feels but doesn’t quite know what we are asking with our intense stares.

“What?” Lelia asks.

“Did you get it?” I ask.

“What?” Lelia asks again, still flustered from the intense stares that are trying to penetrate into her, as if we all have the analyze skill and are just waiting to use it on her.

“The Skill, did you get the Skill?” Lucia asks, her impatience cutting through and causing Lelia to focus.

“What, oh yeah. I got it!” Lelia replies.

Then there is a look of both relief and simultaneous regret that fills everyone else’s face as we all deflate a bit at the sight of her somehow actually having a Free Skill slot just waiting there for her. Still, I push on, trying to not let my annoyance show, as part of me, secretly wanted to have the Relic grade Skill, even if it meant having to make a midnight run to a hidden Arbiter in the middle of the night that took house calls.

“And it is Rare?” I ask to confirm.

“Yes, rare,” Lelia replied.

From there, I began feeding her the three Enhancement crystals, slowing down as it seemed painful, particularly the more of each type of crystal she fed into the same exact Skill. But it was only a momentary pain, one that we could almost feel by how red her face got, and how tightly she clenched her eyes, and her breath. Yet, despite the pain she was enduring, she never let out a sign of pain. Instead, she just took it all silently, only a brief exhale every so often let us know she was ready for the next crystal.

While I was tending to Lelia, I turned to the others and declared, “go ahead and divvy the remainder up between you all evenly.”

Once done, I saw the others all moving to grab different crystals. Finally after a moment of silence, as we had moved on from the Enhancement crystals to the Experience crystals, Luna asked, “what about you, what would you need?”

Just hearing her sweet voice fill the air caused a smile to form on my face, “I’m fine, besides I already got my bonus with the three extra Enhancement crystals. Just focus on your own, for now.”

With that comment the others all seemed to stare at me. I could even feel Lucia stare at me with an intrusive gaze, one that sent shivers down my spine and let me know she was using an Analyze type skill on me. Seeing that she had the Skill was great, as it meant that it was one less Skill that we needed to try to find to fill out our team.

By the time we are done with the seventh and final experience crystal, I asked the all important question to Lelia, “was that enough?”

Lelia paused, as her eyes glossed over, a sign that she was clearly reading the system message being given to her. With a nod, she confirmed, “yeah, it’s enough.”

Then before I could ask what she needed to do, in order to badge the Relic grade Skill, I saw the moment a glowing purple flame erupted from her body, and seemed to burn her from head to toe, before dissolving into the ether.

A glance out of the corner of my eye told me that I was not the only one who was now staring at Lelia, as she seemed to be sturdier somehow. While she had been mostly skin and bones with a few defined muscles, she had clearly filled out in many of the right ways and places. Her face that had looked angular and more foxlike before, still had the same sharpness, but was now defined by traditional beauty marks, as her skin was healthier and had a radiant sheen to it, even her hair seemed to have been improved. To put it succinctly, she had a glow up right before our eyes.

“That was it? You badged it?” I asked, making sure I could describe what I saw accurately.

Lelia nodded, though I could see she was taking small measured breaths as if she expected each breath to still hurt her. A lingering sign of the pain she went through to get this Relic grade Skill in her repertoire.

“Good, then your first badging can be the commander, after she finishes one of her two Skills that are close to completion,” Luna demands. As she speaks, my gaze is first brought to her, then to her hand which is pointing at the now mostly empty table, save for two crystals. There is one experience crystal, and then finally the last Skill crystal with a Skill that I don’t even know what it was. But I did feel some type of way knowing that the team chose to give me two, and arguably the two most important crystals for me currently as it meant I could max out a Skill, get Lelia to badge said Skill, then immediately replace that empty slot with a new Skill. A perfect plan, and one of those moments that seemed almost too perfect to happen on their own. Don’t get me wrong, I knew that the team chose this for me, but I couldn’t help but feel grateful for their sacrifice as I was willing to let them take all the remaining crystals, even the Skill one as I had enough with my three Enhancement crystals, or so I thought.

“Thank you,” I say and I truly mean it, as I try not to let my face betray my internal turmoil with the tears that feel like they are bout to pour out. But I can’t quite help it, as it’s been an exceptionally long day, and to see this, it shows that my team really cares and that matters to me in ways I didn’t know would be so meaningful.

“Thank you,” I repeat myself, as my words are escaping me, despite my hand going over to the lone Experience crystal, picking it up and using it to fill out a skill. It only takes me a moment to realize what Skill I want to fill out, and that is Strategist*, the Skill that seemingly set me down this path that led me here. The Skill that first let me realize this world offered a lot more, if I just looked. “I truly appreciate this.”

Within moments I see the crystal dissolve, as the numbers of my Skill fly up.

(Rare) Strategist* 138

(Rare) Strategist* 139

…

(Rare) Strategist* 152

…

(Rare) Strategist* 176

…

(Rare) Strategist* 192

…

(Rare) Strategist* 200

Then as expected, I feel the rest of the crystal dissolve into me, with the remaining energy filling my body with no clear intent or purpose. Just sitting there, seemingly waiting to be used for later. This just leaves us with the remaining Skill crystal, the last and most valuable of the crystals that were gained. With it being the last, I turn to Lelia and hold out my hand.

“Ready to badge your first victim?” I ask.

“Second, but yes, I should be fine,” Lelia corrected, then grabbing my hand I felt her use the mana within her body to flow out into me, and then filter her way into my system tab, before finding my full Skill and seeming to package it up, and set it in the badge category. A process that felt like someone was walking over my grave, while the sun was shining through me, a mixed conglomeration of odd and unique feelings and events. Then I get a system message that lets me know it has been completed.

Skill (Rare) Strategist* has been successfully badged.

Seeing the message, I pause as I don’t remember seeing such a message before. I don’t know if this is due to the process being done by a Relic level Skill holder, or not, but I have to admit that the entire process seemed completely different.

With the skill successfully badged, I then grab the unused Skill crystal and wonder if I should use it. Then after a second, I realize that after badging her own Skill, Lelia has her own open Skill slot, which makes me wonder.

“How did you have an open Free Skill slot this entire time?” I ask, breaking my promise of not asking any questions.

“Oh, I just opened it this afternoon while we were in the laboratory,” Lelia begins.

“What?” I ask, finding it odd that I was now mimicking her signature word from earlier.

“While you were fighting the monster, I saw the pooled water on the floor and my eyes told me to drink it, so I did, and that got me a sixth Free Skill slot to use. So, I only had the slot open for a few hours,” Lelia let out, talking faster and admitting far more than she likely wanted to at this exact moment.

I pause, and then ask the one question that my mind understood from all of that, “wait, you mean the corpse liquid that was being drained from the professors and fighters, the very liquid that we were running through, you drank?”

“Only after you purified it with your green fire, before that, my sight told me it was dangerous,” Lelia protests, and once again, I realize part of why Lelia was left to fend for herself for so long. Then Lucia says the exact thought that everyone else who heard her explanation was thinking.

“EWW!”