Gamer Chapter 23 - So Bored

Stat INT cannot be raised
You have reached the limit as the race human

I smiled bitterly. Of course. Lying back on my back I scowled, gazing upwards at the window that floated in the air. Of course it would do that, why on earth would it let me become powerful?

I knew I was strong already, but not at the level I desired to be. I could also predict a race change in the future, for why else would I be see this limitation.

A few deep breaths later, I finally moved my finger to LUK

Stat LUK cannot be raised
This stat cannot be invested in

Ah yes, that one stat that raises the slowest. Why would I be allowed to raise it with the stats gained from levelups.

My mood was darkened and sour as I lay on my bed, staring upwards at the insolent screen. Finally I sunk my points into AGI.

NameJonathan Clifft.i.tlesGamer, p.a.w.nLevel25 [6%]Health780/780Stamina1002/1002Mana863/880Balance23,055 CoinsVIT69STR90END95AGI57DEX34INT99WIS88LUK23

Skills

Cooking lv.24 [43%]

Shock Resistance lv.27 [89%]

Storytelling lv.12 [55%]

Crafting

Banker lv.13 [63%]

Gravity Mastery lv.61 [7%]

Light Mastery lv.54 [69%]

Torchlight lv.19 [72%]

Gravity Well lv.10 [32%]

Rift Creation lv.1 [0%]

Throwing lv.18 [32%]

My mood was darkened and depressed as I closed my eyes, taking a nap for what seemed like seconds.. Before I heard pounding on my door. "Jon!" Kane yelled desperately.

Reluctantly I got up and walked to the door, just as it snapped open and Kane shoved Lily inside. His expression was fearful as he slammed it shut and grabbed his sword from his bed before facing the door again. Interestingly enough, his fearful expression wasn't directed to me.

Lily was still aware of my presence however, she sat on a bed away from me in rich clothing benefiting a party with Kane himself dressed fancily in deeply dyed clothing with a sharp cut.

"What's wrong?" I asked, my mood still sour from earlier.

"a.s.sa.s.sins!" Kane snapped, voice laced with anger.

I snorted. Of course. What could be more expected. If you can't kill them on the battlefield, kill them when they are unguarded!

"Its not d.a.m.n funny! You say you have to protect her, so protect her!" Kane snapped as he stood facing the door with sword drawn, waiting for the next a.s.sa.s.sin to barge in.

I didn't react to his anger, instead mildly saying "I didn't find it funny. But I don't think they'll attack here"

"Why not" he growled angrily.

I smiled. "Because I'm here"

He stood speechless for a second, then he exclaimed with realisation "Oh.." as he finally started to relax.

"So, either of you want to tell me what happened?" I smoothly spoke as I lay back against the wall on the bed.

Kane sat heavily on the same bed as Lily, sitting across from me without a care for the danger he had felt from me earlier. "A man tried to slip a knife in her". Lily's face concerted in a grimace at the way he phased it as Kane continued blissfully unaware.

"We had been attending a small gathering in a local n.o.ble's house for reasons beyond your grasp when I saw a man holding his arm weirdly. By the time I noticed he was holding a knife, it was almost too late. I knocked him down of course, but the d.a.m.n guards were nowhere to be seen. After taking care of him I stood up only to find there was another man creeping up on her. It was only by luck we made it out of there, everyone in that d.a.m.n building had to have been in on it. Not a single guard to be seen anywhere. h.e.l.l, wouldn't be surprised if those a.s.sa.s.sins were the guards! They were b.l.o.o.d.y crawling everywhere! What made it worse was I didn't have my sword and could only hope to escape. d.a.m.n n.o.bles." he spat.

He hissed with pain with the sudden movement and I realized with surprise that his deep red shirt wasn't all dye, a large patch was blood and some of it still looked fresh.

"So", I smiled. "Should I go look for them?"

"You are not going after them!" Kane snapped before wincing with pain, "We need you here to protect Lily" he continued in a subdued tone.

Sighing heavily, I stared blankly into the air "Great". As a afterthought I quickly *Examine*d Kane and was surprised to see his health had sunk by a third to 70. Just how deep was that wound?

As if reading my mind, Kane spoke "Send someone to fetch a doctor, offer them coins and stress urgency". My respect for him rose a little as I left the room, I wouldn't have been that calm and collected.

I also knew that the way he lost his health, he should be seriously wounded and in extreme pain. I could still operate, but my sense of pain had also been dulled as my END rose.

Seeking out the innkeeper, I ignored the stressed and frightened look on his face as I handed over a handful of coins and stressed the importance for a doctor to be fetched immediately. Quickly looking around for someone to delegate the task to, he met my eyes and shivered before running out the door himself.

I didn't care much for the task, but I didn't want Kane to die.

Returning to the room it seemed like a half hour as Kane wheezed in pain and Lily sat silently in a corner before the doctor finally arrived with a timid tap on the door. Opening the door I could see a man and the innkeeper behind. Quickly confirming the man's profession, I throw a few more coins to the innkeeper before closing the door.

Skipp lv.3 Doctor

Shortly after the doctor stripped off Kane's shirt, Lily decided she didn't want to stay in the room. I followed behind her and sat in the hallway as she entered her own room. Sitting in the hallway, I could hear Kane's hisses of pain as the doctor dressed his wound and the occasional grunt.

At one point, I believed I heard a faint sob from Lily's room, she probably feels guilty about this. But she didn't cry for me did she..

Finally, the doctor finished and left the room. Paying the doctor, I could only wait in the hallway and guard the two rooms.

It was incredibly boring. Spectators gawked at me as they 'walked past' and eventually I took to firing Light Beam at them. In the darkened hallway it was far too bright, blinding and startling them as they recoiled in fright. That entertainment didn't last long before I called up the innkeeper and told him to keep people away, handing him a few more coins as a bribe. They probably bribed him in the first place, the inn certainly couldn't hold that many people.

Night dawned and as the hallway began to darken even further into a pitch black hall I sent up a few Torchlights, colored red, blue and green as my fantasy took me. I did try out a black Torchlight, floating in the air in front of me. But the scene wasn't very visible and interesting stains were outlined on the floor and walls. Not something I wanted to see.

I sat there as the hours pa.s.sed, the night quiet with everyone in bed. n.o.body moved about the inn at this time of night and aside from shuffling occasionally in my position as I grew stiff, the time pa.s.sed in silence, the occasional creak coming from the other rooms. Yet I didn't dare leave my spot, nor fall into meditation to work on my magic.

It was a light footfall that alerted me of a presence, a foot treading at the time of night where all should be sleeping. I could hear him at the end of the hallway behind the corner, not far at all from the stairs. Hear the creaks of the floorboards as his weight shifted and the rustling of clothing.

Leaning against the wall I breathed lightly as I waited for the would-be a.s.sa.s.sin to make his first move. We waited for one to make the first move, the a.s.sa.s.sin unaware I knew of his presence. The night grew still again, but I knew he was still there.

As the Torchlight's slowly began to die, I replaced them but this time they were all colored red. One Torchlight I sent to float in the corner of the hallway, illuminating the a.s.sa.s.sin as I heard his breath catch. He didn't make another sound after that.

Finally, I spoke. "Are you scared of me?" I asked, uncaring of his answer.

He didn't speak, didn't move and I began to wonder if he was waiting for something. It wasn't until a few minutes later that with a sudden creak of the floorboards he stepped out and with dark gray cloth bound around his body threw two knives at me. One towards my throat and the other at my chest.

The first knife, I easily dodged. But I couldn't get off the ground in time to dodge the second knife and it was with a twinge of pain that it scratched me.

Poison status, -2 HP a second
Expires: 15 seconds

Negligible damage, probably deadly if my END wasn't maxed. And then as the a.s.sa.s.sin ran towards me with two more knives in his hands, I caught sight his nametag and raised my eyebrows. This was the highest level I had seen yet in this world.

Yuan lv.13 a.s.sa.s.sin

By the time the a.s.sa.s.sin had reached me I was already standing up, I debated opening my inventory but as the a.s.sa.s.sin whipped his left hand towards my palms I gave up the thought and easily grabbed his wrist. As he tried to yank his arm from my grasp his other hand rose, meaning to stab deep into my arm.

Easily crushing his wrist, he gasped in pain as his right arm swung desperately at me with knifetip glistening with poison. I easily caught that too and squeezed his hand, forcing him to drop the knife.

I released him as he stumbled before easily stepping behind him where I grabbed him into a bearhug, wrapping his arms to the sides. Sensing his imminent defeat, he began to yell and scream like a man processed.. Mindless senseless words, desperately struggling with the strength of a weak kitten as he tried to slam his head backwards into my face.

Then, in the small length of time it took for him to gasp as I drew my grip tighter I heard a faint rattle coming from Lily's room. The shutters on her window were being forced open.

Wrenching my grip tighter, he screamed silently as a small popup appeared in front of my eyes before I released him as he slumped to the ground, still alive.

Bursting through Lily's locked door as I heard Lily begin to scream, I summoned a handful of coins and applied minor ma.s.s enchants before hurling them at the shadowy figure approaching the bed.

Nine coins struck his body, bones broke and flesh was ripped as he was sent flying against the wall where the coins deeply lodged themselves with heavy thuds. Blood trickled down his gray clothes as his body fell to the ground lifeless.

EXP +800

I almost felt excited, but the screams of Lily dampened my mood as I looked over to her. Eyes wide and body desperately pressing against the wall as she looked at the a.s.sa.s.sin's carca.s.s with unrestrained fright.

I stood helpless for a second before I heard Kane's door opening. Quickly stepping inside, he glanced at the dead a.s.sa.s.sin and quickly moved in front of the body. "Cover it" he hissed towards me as he slowly began to move towards Lily, making soothing sounds.

Whipping out my tent canvas like some magician I covered the body, the ground had began to grow sticky with blood as I delicately summoned up a few Torchlight's to see before being snarled at by Kane.. Oh right.

The rest of the night, both Lily and Kane stayed awake. I could hear Kane quietly comforting her as I sat outside the doorway. When the innkeeper dropped by to inquire about the noise, screaming and new decorations in Lily's room. I soon settled the matter with a bag of coins.

We also had a new captive, gagged and tied with ropes. I sat him next to me out in the hallway as Kane comforted Lily inside the room. A few people tried to intrude, speaking about releasing the man I had pathetically sat next to me. But withdrawing one of the four poisoned knives in the inventory in front of their eyes as I stared menacingly at them sorted it out.

But less than a hour later, a knife sunk into the a.s.sa.s.sin's throat as he wheezed a final time. I could see a nametag disappearing into the crowd and knew I would never catch up in time, not without leaving Lily unguarded. It was with disgust that I was left sitting next to a dead body. It didn't even fit in my inventory. Eventually I just threw it into Lily's room.

In the morning we left the inn, the innkeeper was more than happy to see us go. Outside the inn was a small two person carriage, the road filled with 'Sjen's Guards' who held back the crowd with weapons drawn threateningly. As Kane and Lily climbed aboard the carriage, I wondered if it was even legal to operate a private army inside the city. Probably not.

Squatting on top of the carriage, I juggled a few pebbles while scanning the crowds for trouble as the carriage moved beneath me. The guards kept the streets cleared as we moved and with no incidents we arrived at a mansion without trouble. Or to be exact, Sjen's mansion. The popup told me so.

You have entered Sjen's Mansion

A man came out, Count Sjen. His profession was Count..

Sjen lv.4 Count

Greeting us, Lily was calm enough to walk by herself as Kane gingerly walked by her side. I walked behind them, keeping an eye for trouble until Sjen finally stopped at a room and invited her in. As Kane and Lily stepped inside, even the count looked slightly taken aback that Kane stayed with her. But of course, Kane didn't invite me in. "Don't make trouble" were his closing words.

"Mind if I walk about the place?" I politely asked a nervous Sjen who gave his shaky approval.

The rest of the day was boring. I didn't dare move far away or get distracted. I did find a spy amongst the servants, but after some.. questioning.. It wasn't really related to Lily. Still turned her in however, I wasn't going to do myself any favors allowing her to walk and talk.

I spent the night outside their room, I had mentioned it before but I no longer needed to sleep. To entertain myself I flew Torchlight's around myself, when I tried to send them through solid objects their mana was rapidly drained. Eventually I began to experiment with controlling them after having cast them, I had the idea of a thin thread of mana connecting to the spell, but couldn't hold it stable before it was morning.

Breakfast was delivered, and soon maids began to carry buckets of water inside the room. Kane walked out less than a minute after and sat down heavily on the chair where we spent the next hour waiting.. and waiting.. until finally Lily came out refreshed and in a new dress.

I noticed immediately that her att.i.tude towards me had changed, where before she seemed to fear and avoid me now she seemed to tolerate my presence, even if she still avoided making eye contact with me.

Standing in front of us in her fancy dress, she looked sideways before speaking. "We will be attending several meetings today". She waited for Kane to slowly leverage himself out of the chair as he winced in pain before finally standing up. Absentmindedly I noticed he acquired a wooden cane from someplace.

"Are you sure you should be coming?" I asked Kane, mildly worried about his wound. Looking at me with contempt, he spoke down to me with a sneer "You can offer her support?". I dropped the conversation.

The escort outside the door, the guards crawling over the grounds and the large carriage I was for once permitted to enter.. But Kane kicked me out of. Not going to talk about that. Nor will I talk about that a.s.sa.s.sin amongst the guards who I dispatched on sight, the ensuring trouble and the long ride to each meeting.

The entire day was boring and kind of mind-numbing.

It was useful for information gathering however. When you strip out their dialogue and bargains and the like, they would often talk of the strengths of the other armies, the people who supported those armies. Lily made more than a few deals as the day pa.s.sed, more invitations flooding in everyday willing to discuss a meeting with her and finance her 'army'.

They did talk about me, but they referred to me as an object. Something that Lily controlled. Lily felt uncomfortable about it everytime it was mentioned and she glanced at me, but she calmed down once she realized I didn't care about it. She made sure to invite me to these meetings, not as a part of it but as one of her guards. Everytime she was invited to eat something or drink, I silently *Identify*d it to catch poisons.

None of the n.o.bles were pleased to have me so close, they were nervous and faces would perspire as I silently leaned against the wall waiting for their discussions to finish. Everytime Lily was done with the meeting, she would normally hand a bag of coins to me. Less than a second later, I would drop the emptied bag on the ground.

Only in one meeting did we encounter trouble, a plate of biscuits laced with some 'Garotte Poison'. As the biscuits were served, silently and arrogantly I took the plate and leaned against the wall and began to munch as I ignored Kane's angry stare. The man we were meeting with was disturbed by my actions, but didn't seem to realize that the biscuits were laced. Doesn't matter really, Kane would be upset if I said something so I'll tell them later.

Poison status, -50 HP every hour
Expires: 2 days

At least the effect didn't stack.

But as I said before, the entire day was boring. I had no interest in the stuff that was going down, and no one would appreciate it if I started playing around or walking the place. Lily wasn't pleased when I later told her about the biscuits, and I began to notice that she was growing comfortable about me. Talking to me in small moments or giving me instructions on how to act before the meetings began.

The next day was a repeat, Ilan's army was often mentioned however. Rumors about him had grown, his reputation was almost as great as mine.. But of course, they would be treating him with respect and adoration, not fear.

Summarized, the rumors would consist of his acquiring a large number of a new ranged weapon which was superior to a bow, a hundred knights, three hundred archers and the rest of the army formed of swordsmen and spearsmen. Basically, his army was as large as he could get it, and they were as fully equipped as he could get them. And of course, the financing for all of this came from his new bride to be. Lily definitely looked unhappy about it.

As dusk fell we returned to the mansion, Lily declined the offer to host a party and a messenger later arrived from Oliver. The next battle was in 3 days, but it remained undecided on who we would be fighting. People were dropping out like flies.

5 armies left, 3 days to go.