Trash: Chapter 182 Missing Evidence (Patreon)

Chapter 182

Missing Evidence

Hot flashes.

Here I was, about to be grilled, when suddenly I felt an all-consuming wave of fire rolling around inside of me. Worse, this wave of fire seemed to begin at the worst possible time, almost like getting a sudden bout of cramps just before you get thrust into a police lineup. Which is exactly what felt like was happening now.

“Hello,” is all I manage to say to Marcus who did his part of trying to give us enough time to dispose of the last of the evidence. As we all expected something like this to occur, when we first sat down with our bundle of pilfered experience crystals. Still, nothing quite says guilty as nearly crumbling over in severe abdominal pain as this world’s equivalent of magical police come into your study.

“Are you okay?” Lt. Keller’s boss, Major Ritter asks, stepping forward and apparently seeing that I am in the middle of having the last of the evidence course its fiery way through my digestive track. All while I feel it being absorbed, analyzed, and evaluated by my system.

Additional anomalies detected.

Analyzing…

The SySTEM message flashes again in my status page, once again letting me know that it is still working.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I reply, while my stomach chooses that exact moment to dime me out with an all too embarrassing gurgle that could be heard by the ROW officers who are waiting out in the hallway.

“Right,” is all Major Ritter said. Then he scans over the rest of us, only to see that Lucia too is doubled over in pain as well, though her symptoms are not nearly as bad as mine. That or her constitution helps her handle this level of intense pain. Part of me wonders if it was a matter of the Healing Flames* at work, burning away things from my stomach that should otherwise not be messed with.

“Well, we will not take up too much of your time,” Major Ritter continues. Though my body and system apparently choose this exact moment to make a final verdict on what I drank.

Analyzation Complete.

Additional properties detected.

Metaphysical Change Parameters met.

…

Magical Enhancement Protocol Initiated:

Overall Magic Potential Increased: +1

Earth Magic Potential Increased: +1

Fire Potential Increased: +1

These lines of text flow past my eyes, as I could swear that I was squinting and blinking my way through the worst hallucinatory blaze I have ever experienced in my life. Then I can almost see my personal parameters update as if in real time.

Magic Potential: (10 / 15)

Immediately I see the new improved potential. I was already at a High potential before, when I was first being evaluated, but now I could see a numerical value associated with it, which seemed high. Or at least different as the last time I saw it, was when it clearly displayed that I had five of thirteen skill slots filled. Since then, I’ve just had to keep count, which is how I knew I was at ten of fourteen earlier, thanks to my Earth Resonation Skill. To have increased my magic potential once more makes me wonder exactly what the system that we all seem to have inside of us is truly capable of.

Then as if forced to appear so I can validate the changes, my known magical affinities also appear before me.

Magic: Life (6/7), Holy (3/7), Earth (1/7), Fire (0/1)

Seeing the changes, I can’t help but be slightly confused about the increase in Fire Potential. I know I swallowed the liquid as it was tempered by my Healing Flames* but was that enough to cause this change? I try to argue that it was likely just something that I already had a minor affinity for, but I can’t help but wonder about the changes.

Then because my entire body seems out of order, my newly updated Attributes appear.

Attribute

TOTAL

Strength

196.87

Dexterity

227.5

Stamina

219.9

Perception

282.69

Intelligence

259.49

Mana

240

*Life Mana

109.6

**Luck

32

***Resistance

9.48

****Pyro

9.35

I can’t help but notice that my Luck Attribute is stagnant now, thanks to my Strategy* skill being both maxed out and badged thanks to Lelia. As for everything else, I can’t help but feel that I seem to be doing something right, especially if all but Strength is above the two-hundred-point threshold. With only my Unique Skill related bonus attributes being the outliers of that average.

While I am having this mini-hallucination, I am suddenly drawn back to reality by an intense burning sensation that feels like it is penetrating deep into my very core. Blinking away my noted changes, I focus and realize that Major Ritter is right there, using some form of intrusive scan on me. Seeing his intense stare, I can’t help but be jealous of those that have such a skill and make a note that one of my two now open Free Skill slots should be used for an analyze type Skill. Then again, it seems that most people that have an analyze type skill have some affinity for air or water, as further enforced by the intense blue sheen that seems to be emanating from Major Ritter’s eyes.

“You’ve badged eight skills?” Major Ritter asks, a note of confusion in his voice.

I nod, not trusting my still burbling gut to let me speak without somehow embarrassing myself in some way. While the initial burn that I had been feeling is mostly over, thanks to the analysis section being completed, I can’t help but feel there might be something unsettling left to discover, if I let my guard down for a moment.

“Very good, you all did the correct thing, letting your commander take all of the crystals,” the Major begins, “in fact, that is what we were going to come here to enforce.”

“What? Commander Bloom only took four,” Junior chose that moment to remind everyone that he cannot tell a lie to save his life. Worse, he can’t seem to stay quiet either.

“What?” Major Ritter asks, then proceeds to stare at all of us, looking first to Junior, then to Lucia, where he paused for a second too long, before going to Luna, and finally back to me. For a moment he seems content with what he has seen but suddenly seems to realize that there is yet one last person that is part of our team.

I almost think he is just going to look at Lelia and dismiss her the same way he has all of the other members of my team. Or maybe stare at her a bit longer the way he had for Lucia, which might make sense given that we all took the same liquid, the type that let us gain an additional sixth Free Slot each.

“How did you two,” Major Ritter began, before seeming to stop and see that Lelia was almost hidden perfectly behind me. That’s when the major paused and finally asked, “three of you?”

At this moment, Major Ritter paused and turned around realizing that he had an entourage of ROW officers with him that might overhear what he was going to say next.

“Well, our mission here is moot, as all of the crystals that we were to feed to the team commander have been used?” At the comment, the Major turned to us as if for confirmation. This was the time when Junior’s inability to lie paid off.

“Yes, we finished the last one just as you all came in,” Junior replied, all but letting everyone and their mother know that we knew what we were doing was shady, or at least questionable on some level.

“Right,” Major Ritter says, taking a moment to draw out the word, as if he is still trying to figure out how to mentally categorize Junior in this whole mess. Honestly, I am trying to figure that out myself. I’m already making mental notes that he will be the perfect alibi, so long as he remains oblivious to any questionable activities we conduct. The only problem is making sure he doesn’t remain aware of what we are doing, or the fact that we are using him as an alibi.

“Well, it seems our mission for being here is done,” the Major replies, before stopping and giving one last deeply intrusive stare at Lelia. One that seemed to cause Lelia to squirm and feel almost as awkward as I had a moment ago, as my body tried to work with and process the foreign liquid that seemed to both burn away impurities within my body by opening an additional Free Skill Slot, while also increasing my magic potential. While I was fairly certain that Lelia was physically fine with everything happening around her, I couldn’t help but feel like she too had a more concentrated dose of the odd liquid. This thought seemed to be proven correct in the next moment, particularly when the Major asked his next question. “You also managed to awaken your bloodline?”

Hearing the question, Lelia’s eyes grew wide as she could only nod her head in agreement. After Lelia’s confirmation, it was Major Ritter turn to face Lt. Keller, the leader of the fateful expedition. In their stare the two managed to have an entire conversation with nothing more than a stare and a synchronized head nod to note that their shared empathic conversation was over. Then they both turned as one to face Lelia, as both of their eyes glowed blue, then they began to notice something odd.

“You also have a sixth free slot open?” The Major said, speaking Lelia’s status screen openly, as if it was just the latest headline to read for the day, then he almost stuttered as he seemed to notice one more thing, “and you badged a Relic grade Skill? But how?”

Then the Major paused as he turned back to look at Junior. I could all but read his thoughts despite not being part of them, as it was clear from his sudden look at Junior, that the Major realized the boy didn’t lie when he said I only had four crystals. While he might not have said Lelia had the most, it was clear that there was a mass disparity in the assignment of crystals if I only got four of them. Locking gazes with Junior, the Major seemed to notice our team’s biggest weakness, and pressed it for all it was worth at the moment.

“Let me guess, cadet Lelia here had the lion’s share of the crystals found?” Major Ritter asked.

“Yes,” was Junior’s short but succinct response.

At that revelation, the Major just paused and scanned the rest of my team again, lingering on Lucia once again, before quickly shifting to Luna, then back to me. At which point he just stared at me for a second longer, seeing everything and finally seeming to come to one conclusion.

“Well, looks like you’ve done it to yourself,” the Major finally said, staring directly at me.

“Done what to ourselves?” Junior asks, unable to keep quiet even when the moment would probably call for such an event. I know most instructors might get angry about people cutting into a conversation like this, particularly when the Major was staring at me and trying to get a read on me. But fortunately, the Major was not angered by Junior’s response at all. Instead, it almost seemed like he preferred the comment.

“Well, by giving the lion’s share to your Scout here, it seems that you all will now get to spend the next week bonding together as a group,” the Major declared. Then he made a hand gesture towards Lt. Keller, before pointing out three other ROW officers that were with him. “You four are now assigned to this team until completion.”

“Wait, what?” Was all I managed to ask, suddenly realizing that I was missing something very important.

“I’m sorry,” was all Lelia could say in response to my question. Hearing her, I turn to look back, and realize that she once again has that meek appearance, though unlike the others when she is just trying to hide from getting attention, this time it almost seems like she is genuinely frightened. It takes me a moment to realize that she is frightened of my response.

“What happened?” I ask, trying to understand why Lelia would be somewhat antsy around me, I had been trying to help get her out of this timid shell that she had, and was completely at a loss for what happened.

“I-I—” Lelia began, but stuttered out before the Major cut her off.

“Due to her suddenly being able to badge a Relic Grade Skill, she has now unlocked a Legendary grade class, or higher,” the Major replied adding on the last part as a way of seeming to say that even he was not able to fully grade the class. For a second, I wondered if that meant it was a unique class, like I had? Or maybe it was a Relic class that his analyze skill had no insight into?

“Oh congratulations,” I say and mean it, happy that Lelia got a new Class, and one that meant she would be able to be a permanent fixture on my team going forward.

“Congratulations,” Lucia, Luna, and finally Junior all cry out in elation. The only odd note comes from Marcus who chooses that moment to grumble annoyedly. For a moment I want to ask him what his deal is, but the Major seems to feel his response and responds the way a vampire would when realizing humans are asking to come to his table for diner.

“Yes, congratulations all around. And since this is such a momentous occasion, you all get to celebrate by bonding together in that time honored tradition we like to call, Hell week!” The Major declares.

As he speaks so delightedly, I suddenly realize why the Major had a vindictive grin on his face, while Marcus could only groan in apprehension, as I too felt like groaning as I knew exactly what this meant. Unfortunately, not everyone on the team knew, for Junior chose that question to ask the all too obvious question.

“Wait, what’s Hell Week?”