Path of the Deathless (Book 3 Completed)

55 (III) Volatile

55 (III) Volatile

Valor huffed. “I will tell you now, Shiv, that I know only three other people in the world who possess a Unique Skill.”

“And what are they like?”

“Well, one is the greatest idiot I’ve ever met,” Valor answered. Shiv didn’t know what to say about that. “Another is the single most terrifying woman I have ever met. The third is my son.” Shiv turned at Udraal Thann’s mention, but Valor said no more of it. “Regardless, each of them possesses something no one else does. It has changed their nature so much that the way they live in the world, the way they gain other skills, is entirely changed as well.”

“Yeah, well, my Unique Skill also came with a Unique Feat. That’s part of the reason why I level so fast. It’s because I gain levels practically every time I die, to make up for the reasons why I die.”

Adam was slamming his head against the wall. Tran stepped forward, trying to get him to stop.

“Maybe you shouldn't talk about this with him around,” Valor muttered, watching Adam suffer.

“No, I think we should,” Shiv insisted. “I think everyone should know about this right now. It’s important to know. Especially for Adam.”

“I will kill you, Shiv,” Adam ground out. “I will kill you.”

The Young Lord slid down against the wall. His knees hit the ground with a thud. Tran and Heather knelt beside him.itanium, and nightglass armors aplenty, all Adept-Tier or below. And there were other armors, Master-Tier, but too fragile, especially for someone with Shiv’s skills. Most tragic of all, there was a Heroic-Tier armor—something made of Moonsteel, the same kind of metal that composed Shiv’s cooking knife. However, it had already been sold long in advance.

“Forty million shards,” Shiv muttered, gawking at the sale price.

“Hmm, doesn’t sound too expensive,” Adam replied.

Shiv stared at Adam. “Doesn’t sound too expensive.”

“It’s not,” Adam said. “Do you have any idea how much someone pays for good armor? Do you have any idea how much more they might pay for a specific Enchantment?”

Shiv kept staring.

The Young Lord shook his head. “You do not?”

Shiv’s stare turned into a glare. “Yeah, and that’s my fault?”

“Financial literacy is a citizen’s personal civic duty,” Adam declared, clasping his arms behind his back and walking past Shiv. “It is not the state’s duty to coddle you.”

“Yeah, well, if it doesn’t come in the form of a Unique or Legendary skill, I wouldn’t know about it,” Shiv spat.

Adam started walking faster and further away from Shiv. Valor simply sighed and shook his head.

Soon after, they found themselves sitting on a bench outside the smith’s district as people came to and fro. There, Valor, Shiv, Adam, and their tag-alongs spent a few moments in respite, considering what to do next.

“This is only one district.” Adam sighed. “We can go seek out all the others. Actually, Shiv, it might be better if you recruit your lady love for this cause. We’re practically running around like a headless chicken. Valor's been here, but the shops haven't exactly stayed in place for multiple centuries.”

“Yeah,” Shiv said, rubbing his face. “But I hate this. I’d rather fight the Jealousy again. Hells. Let’s go back to the apartment. I’ll make you guys dinner or something. Oh, sorry, Valor.”

“It is fine,” Valor said, sounding not fine.

“Yeah, let’s do that,” Tran mumbled with a full mouth. He and Heather were nursing on Sticky Grub, which was effectively the weavers’ equivalent of ice cream; juicy bugs attached to a dense, edible cocoon web.

Adam and Shiv had tried it earlier as well. The latter thought it was better than the last bug-dish they'd tried, but he still wasn't quite convinced. Adam, meanwhile, had gotten three for himself and described the sticks as “quite tasty and crunchy.”

“My old man wasn’t much of a Pathbearer,” Tran said. “But if there’s one thing I agree with him, it’s this. It’s worth waiting on good equipment. Settling for bad equipment with terrible composition, poor quality, and a low Tier is just asking to get killed.”

“I’d be plenty happy to wait,” Shiv said, “except I’m going to be raiding a gate soon, and the bastard who runs that gate will likely probably pop me, himself, and maybe a good part of the Abyss if he hits me with the right spell.”

“Perhaps it would be wise to ask the Composer too,” Adam said, yawning slightly. “She might have a better idea on how to arm a Master-Tier Pathbearer.” Then the Young Lord looked at Shiv again, did an exaggerated double take, and held out his hands. “Oh, , Unique-Tier Pathbearer Shiv. We will have to find a very entirely special armor for you. Perhaps in bright pink and the finest gold filigree. We’ll call you Gilded Princess.”

“Is that what you think about, Young Lord? Me in bright pink and gilded armor? What would your fiancée say?”

Adam’s pretend mockery died for a moment, and his expression turned to one of sourness and uncertainty. Shiv grimaced. They hadn't exactly continued with the topic after his initial retelling of the events inside the gate. “I… Adam… I don’t think she’s a part of this. What Oldsmith said…”

“I don’t know what to believe anymore about most things.” Adam stared off into the distance. “But I will find out.”

“We will find out,” Shiv said.

Adam eyed him a moment, and then he nodded. “Yes, I suppose we will. Me with my precision, and you with your… destructive, barbarous ways.”

Shiv chuckled. “Well, what was that you said? You’re the hunter, I’m the Hawk?”

“Well, you’re not really like a hawk. A hawk is quick and agile in the air, plunging and catching prey in an instant. You’re more like… a rhino.”

“What the hells is a rhino?” Shiv asked.

“It’s an extinct animal. Supposedly it was very big, very strong, and it smashed through everything in its way, uh, until it couldn’t, and then it usually died.”

“Oh,” Shiv said. “So it’d come back stronger and smash through eventually?”

“No, not really.”

“Well, then I don’t think I’m quite like a rhino either.”

Adam laughed.

The group settled into a brief silence. Just then, a psionic wave washed over Shiv, and it carried Uva’s voice with it.

Uva said.

Shiv blinked and sat up.

She gave a brief laugh.

Shiv was about to tell Adam what was happening, but the Young Lord just nodded. Adam said. Shiv blinked. Uva was getting very good at using the Jealousy.

Shiv and Adam shared a look, and the Young Lord’s head promptly fell into his hands.

Uva asked with a tinge of concern to her voice.

Shiv said, sliding closer to pat the Young Lord on his back.

“System!” Adam roared up at the sky, scaring the nearby smiths.