Seeds of Discordia

Gimmel stared at Liam. At first he didn’t comprehend what Liam had said. After a few seconds of thinking about the words he let it sink in. Tears slowly started to form at the edges of his eyes as realized that he was now a part of a group. He wasn’t a bag carrier, or an errand boy like with Chad.

He wasn’t being told that he was going to be used as a shield like other groups did when they found out about his affinity. He wasn’t told he would be a money pit or looked down upon like the parties who wanted to strike it rich.

Instead, Liam looked excited after he told him about the craft needed to make puppets. He wasn’t turned away nor was he laughed at when he told them his dream. Even the others, who stared at him with suspicion at first, gave him a warm smile. They looked like they were accepting him, flaws, and all.

Gimmel didn’t think he would find people who would accept him. He thought he would need to do anything and everything just to even get a spot at the bottom of a group. That’s how Chad made him feel. The days of running around trying to get their armor and weapons fixed. Having to find the best deals on potions and even reservations. The promise of joining his party as an official member was nothing but pretty little lies. Lies he made himself believe. Even when those other two older boys mentioned that it was supposed to be a group decision and confirmed that Chad never mentioned his potential of becoming a member…All that hard work was surely going to end badly for him.

Yet here he stood. Not only was he told that he was welcomed to their group, he was even told that the Deity they were worshipping saw potential in him. At first he didn’t believe it. That disbelief had faded the moment the notification appeared before him. He was now a Follower of a Goddess of Chaos. A deity he had never heard of before. At least he thought he had never heard of her before. After he was able to think a bit more he started to think more about the name Goddess of Chaos, Eris. He felt like he should know who that was, but no matter how hard he thought about it he couldn’t pinpoint where he had heard of it.

He wasn’t the best study when it came to Magic Theory. His head was full of the stories his uncle had told him over and over again as well as the possible adventures he would one day tell his uncle about. He couldn’t wait. He looked back at the four who had started conversing amongst themselves. He could hear them chide Liam about not rushing ahead trying to get the Artificer Craft. That he needed to focus on what he already had before him before adding more to his current work load.

He laughed at that. Their pestering made Gimmel believe that this Liam guy; an apprentice of his uncle, a member of the Fiddler’s Spider Web, a Champion to a Deity, and someone who had the Crafter class was someone who didn’t think things through and just did whatever the hell he wanted…

Gimmel’s thoughts stopped after that thought. He went over that list once more. Then again. And again. Then he realized what he was stuck on. This guy was a Crafter, yet he could fight. He had seen him fight and when he did, he didn’t look like a crafter. He looked like an assassin. A poorly trained assassin, but he still had the movements of one. The way he used his daggers, his positioning of his magic, and even when he used Shadow Ste…

Gimmel’s eyes widened. Throughout all of the ruckus and his emotions overwhelming from being happy at his acceptance to the group, he had forgotten everything he had seen. This guy had both Shadow and Lunar Magic. Two pieces of magic that, even the dunce he was at Magic Theory, knew could be harmful to have at the same time. Not to mention they were both rare magics to have. He was a New arrival which meant that unless he was super lucky and found the magic then he had them at the beginning.

Gimmel started to grow frantic as he thought about what that meant. If he had had Shadow Magic since the beginning then that meant he had ties to a certain family. A family that he didn’t want to piss off. The same was the same for Lunar Magic. While it wasn’t well known publicly, everyone in his clan and those connected to certain Assassin Clans knew of only one race and clan that started with the Lunar and they were more secretive than the most powerful clans. However, he is a Half-Beast-kin. A Cat-folk, nonetheless. That clan hasn’t married nor produced any from that specific race.

“I’m glad you’re realizing the issues now,” Eri suddenly stated in Gimmel’s mind.

Gimmel let out a squeak as he heard Eri’s voice for the first time. Liam, Artem, Blair, and Roman turned their attention on him and noticed he was looking around. At first they weren’t sure what was going on, but then it dawned on them what was going on.

They all laughed as Eri continued in Gimmel’s mind, “Calm down. You look like a panicked child that had their favorite toy stolen after just setting it down.”

Gimmel froze at that admonishment. He gulped before letting out a breath of air. Then with a timid voice he asked, Is that you Eris…I mean my Lady…God…Goddess Eris?

“Calm down. Eri will do just fine.” Eri stated. “I hate that stuffy formalities stuff. Anyways I need you to focus.”

Gimmel nodded his head vigorously as he listened.

“What I said was true. I do see potential in you and that ability you received after becoming my Follower just proves it. That ability doesn’t show up for just anyone who has an affinity for Puppeteering. It’s a rare ability that no one has seen the full potential of yet. I have high hopes for you,” Eri complimented.

Gimmel could feel his face warm a bit as a grin slowly grew.

“However, that is not the only reason I wished to have you a part of my Champion’s circle,” Eri stated. Her tone suddenly growing a bit more serious.

Gimmel could not only hear the change of tone, but also felt it.

“He doesn’t know what he is doing in this world nor how to properly hide the abilities he should be hiding while in front of others. I need you to help him understand this,” Eri continued. “He doesn’t realize it yet, but his evolved class has the capabilities of growing into more than a Crafter type class.”

His evolved class? A crafter type class? Gimmel thought as he scrunched his brows. I don’t understand Lad…Eri. Is his class a Crafter class or is it something else?

“Fundamentally and informatively it is a Crafter class,” Eri started. “However, I think there is more to it than what meets the eye.”

Gimmel hummed as he brought a hand to his chin. If you don’t mind me asking…what is his class?

“That is something I will wait for my Champion to tell,”  Eri stated. “He hasn’t realized it yet, but due to everything that has happened since the Tutorial Area, he hasn’t even informed all of his teammates what it is. But I will tell you this…I have a hunch it is tied to the reason why he was able to learn Lunar Magic.”

Gimmel’s eyes widened at that.

“We’re going off track. I need him to start acting more like a Crafter, albeit one that is aspiring to be a Combat Crafter. When he’s around others who are not a part of his circle, he’ll need to act like someone who uses crafting techniques when fighting. While he has someone helping him with that aspect, I need you to be able to spot when he does something he shouldn’t. I’ve already have him using his Shadow Magic as a part of his Fiddler’s Spider Web persona. When it’s just him and his circle in dungeons he should be fine using all that he has.”

Gimmel nodded as he started to understand what she wanted from him. Since he has experience with his clan, she wanted him to make sure he didn’t make any mistake. He needed to create three different personas. One would be his Crafter persona. Another would be his Fiddler’s Web Persona. The last would be him being himself. Learning to juggle different personas was a part of his clan training so that shouldn’t be an issue. However, he was curious as to why she wanted him to do all of that. His curiosity was strong enough to make him ask.

“As you saw earlier, he has many secrets. One of them being my Champion,” Eri replied.

Why hide that though?

“That is a complicated situation that you will learn in the future,” Eri answered.

Gimmel nodded. He understood that he since he was a new Follower and one that was at the bottom of the totem pole as well, he wasn’t allowed access to important information just yet. He could respect that decision. Alright. I think I can try my best to do as you want.

“Thank you. For your first job…,” Eri started. “Could you please teach him how to make those earring go invisible. If he keeps walking around with them visible then his everyday persona and his Fiddler’s Web persona are going to get found out eventually. I am certain there is a certain spider that has already caught wind. And if she hasn’t then his Lucky Break sub-stat is working overtime.”

  Gimmel blinked a few times after hearing that. He stared at Liam for a long moment and realized she was right. They were out there in the open for the whole world to see. He thought about why he was being so stupid but then a new thought popped in his mind. My damn uncle probably didn’t mention they had that hidden feature.

 

---

 

Liam was happy to see Gimmel’s reaction. He was also happy to know he wouldn’t have to go back to that stupid Elf, Chad. That guy just rubbed him the wrong way. It didn’t have anything to do with him dating his ex-girlfriend. It was more about his attitude. He hated self-pompous asshole who believed the world owed them everything just for being in his presence.

His thoughts were taken away from the asshole as Blair suddenly stated, “Liam.”

Liam turned to look at her. As he did, he saw her squint her eyes in a way that told him she was about to say something that he wasn’t going to like.

“You are not allowed to gain any new crafts,” Blair bluntly stated.

Liam’s mouth opened wide. He was about to protest, but stopped as Artem joined in and said, “I agree.”

Roman crossed his arms and nodded in agreement with them.

“Why?” Liam asked.

“Because you need to focus on the ones you have right now,” Blair replied. “You don’t have the time to learn something new when you are honing your craft with the ones you currently have.”

Liam pouted as he looked away. “You may be right about that but…” He then looked back at them and said, “Its Artificery. That is like peak crafting!”

The three raised a brow.

“If it’s considered Peak Crafting then that’s all the more reasoning you should hold off on learning it,” Artem stated.

Liam looked affronted by that as he gave them an offended look. He was about to protest, but stopped as Blair said, “No.”

Liam tried again.

“No,” Artem interrupted.

Liam tried a third time.

“No means no,” Roman interjected.

Liam narrowed his eyes as he looked at each of them. “You know it’s not fair when all three of you gang up on me.”

“If the others were here they’d agree as well,” Artem stated.

“But they aren’t here right now so their votes don’t count,” Liam said as he crossed his arms.

Blair let out a long sigh as Artem shook his head and Roman chuckled a bit. “We’re not saying you can’t learn anything new, but you should really focus on the what…three crafts you currently know. At least until you really understand them,” Blair explained.

“Seven…,” Liam said as he didn’t look at them.

“What?” Blair questioned, unsure what he meant by that number. “What do you mean by seven?”

“I have six crafts…not counting the sub-sections of the crafts as well,” Liam said as he felt Blair’s stare on him. Before she could say anything Liam explained, “I learned four more while I was away from you. One of the four actually has to do with my class and the others…” Liam’s eyes widened as he remembered Uncle Naro. He looked at them with some excitement. “That’s right. I haven’t told you guys yet!”

“Told us what?” Artem asked as he felt Liam’s excitement.

“There’s this guy, Uncle Naro. He started off with the Crafter Class as his starting class as well. Well, he’s teaching me and guiding me with three of the four new crafts I have. He’s also giving me pointers that have helped my form when I do my blacksmithing and given me some suggestions,” Liam started explaining. “Oh yeah Artem. I convinced him to guide you in the Chef class since he is an expert at cooking. I think you’d really enjoy learning from him! He’s also the one who…”

Liam suddenly remembered the deal he and Uncle Naro made. Liam looked down at the ground.

“What’s wrong?” Artem asked, concerned about why Liam had suddenly stopped.

“I just remembered a deal he and I made,” Liam replied.

“Deal? What deal?” Roman quickly questioned. “He didn’t make you take some shady deal did he?”

Liam shook his head. “No…that wasn’t it.”

“Then what was the deal?” Blair asked, growing curious.

Liam let out a breath of air. “There’s a lot that happened while we were separated. I won’t get into all the details right now, but during one of my lowest nights. He and I made a deal where he said he wanted me to be his apprentice in Rune Crafting and Enchanting. The deal was he wanted me to go with him.”

“Go with him? Where?” Artem asked.

“To find you guys,” Liam stated as he gave them an embarrassed expression.

“To find us?” the three repeated. “What for?”

“To find you guys and see if you all wanted to party again,” Liam muttered.

They looked at Liam was a confused look.

“Why would you try and find us to see if we wanted to party again? I think we all agreed that we would do that,” Roman asked with a puzzled look still on his face.

“Yeah. We all agreed that we would party outside of the Tutorial Area didn’t we?” Artem questioned.

“Yeah, but…,” Liam started to say, but stopped himself.

Blair understood what he was thinking. Annoyance stirred inside her. Some of it was towards Liam for thinking what she believe what went through his mind, but the other half was towards whatever caused those thoughts to appear. “You thought that we were all off doing our own thing and that you shouldn’t try to find us because everything we did back in the Tutorial Area was what could amount to what some would say creating good memories?”

Liam stared at Blair. The look he gave her told her she was right on the money. Blair let out a long sigh. “Good grief. You can be an idiot sometimes you know that?”

Liam frowned at those words. “So a lot of people keep telling me.”

“Well, since the three of us are here we’ll tell you our answer,” Blair said as she gave him a grin. “I for one would love to continue our adventures.”

“Same here,” Artem stated.

“It would be kind of awkward if we didn’t want to since us three came all the way here to find you,” Roman replied with shake of his head. A smart ass grin then grew on his face as he hiked a thumb at Gimmel and added, “Plus that cringy statement of welcoming him to our group of chaotic misfits would be weird as hell if we didn’t want to continue this.”

Liam’s cheeks burned.

“However, we’re not the others so you’ll have to ask them next time you see them,” Blair said as she stared at him.

Liam groaned. “Do I have to? You guys already made it clear how stupid I was to think those thoughts.”

“Yes,” the three stated.

“You made a deal with this…Naro. A deal is a deal, and you have to see it through,” Blair insisted.

Roman and Artem broke out into knowing shit eating grins as one said, “I can’t wait to hear what they say.”

The other added with a chuckle, “I know right. I’m fairly sure he’ll get an earful from them about how stupid he is.”

Liam groaned once more. He didn’t have time to say anything else as Gimmel finally stopped talking to Eri and asked, “Hey Liam. Did my stupid Uncle ever mention how to make your earrings go invisible?”

Liam tilted his head as he turned to look at him. “Noooo,” Liam cautiously replied. “Is there such a function? It didn’t say that there was.”

Gimmel let out a sigh as he responded, “Of course he didn’t. here let me tell you how to…”

Gimmel spent the next few minutes explaining the process. It turned out all he had to do was channel some Shadow Mana into them. Normally one would use Illusion Mana, but since he didn’t have that he found out that Shadow Mana was the next best thing.

“Okay. Now that that’s all settled, let’s look over our gains, loot this boss and head out…,” Liam started to say until he remembered the magic circle that sucked in Soul Orbs. “Shit we still need to destroy that magic circle.”

Artem, Blair, and Roman looked at each other before looking back at him. This time it was their turn to look sheepish.

Liam raised a brow and asked, “What is it you’re not telling me?”

“We kind of already took care of that,” Artem stated.

He then explain that while Roman was running rampant in his fiery Minotaur form he had inadvertently destroyed the circle when he ran through it and stomped on the platform it was placed on.

Liam let out a long laugh. Through the chaos they had destroyed the circle without even doing much. It seemed like Calythtis’ plan was doomed no matter what.

“Alright. Since that’s taken care of let’s take a look at our gains and then finish up here,” Liam stated before turning to the notifications awaiting him.

[Congratulations! Sub-stat Resilience has reached level 21! Progression to level 22: 89%!]

[Congratulations! Sub-stat Vitality has reached level 21! Progression to level 22: 65%!]   

[Congratulations! Sub-stat Stamina Endurance has reached level 25! Progression to level 26: 9%!]   

[Congratulations! Sub-stat Cognition Perseverance has reached level 23! Progression to level 24: 10%!]   

[Congratulations! Sub-stat Lucky Break has reached level 26! Progression to level 27: 9%!]   

[Congratulations! Sub-stat HP Recovery has reached level 26! Progression to level 27: 25%!]

[Congratulations! Sub-stat MP Recovery has reached level 26! Progression to level 27: 25%!]

[Congratulations! Sub-stat Stamina Recovery has reached level 26! Progression to level 27: 25%!]

[Congratulations! Sub-stat Will Power has reached level 27! Progression to level 28: 54%!]

[Congratulations! Main Class Spirit Weaver Ability Soul Harvest has reached level 22! Progression to level 23: 87%!]

[Congratulations! Main Class Spirit Weaver Ability Spirit Weave has reached level 7! Progression to level 8: 24%!]

[Congratulations! Mental Resilience: Chaotic Meltdown has reached level 11! Progression to level 12: 7%!]

[Congratulations! Ailment Resistance: Venom has reached level 14! Progression to level 15: 76%!]

[Congratulations! Weapon Skill: Dagger has reached level 19! Progression to level 20: 7%!]

[Congratulations! Weapon Skill: Scythe has reached level 7! Progression to level 8: 23%!]

[Congratulations! Gravity Force Push has reached level 5! Progression to level 6: 0%!]

[Congratulations! Field of Lunar has reached level 11! Progression to level 12: 0%!]

[Congratulations! Focus Point – Utility (Lunar) has reached level 11! Progression to level 12: 0%!]

[Congratulations! Lunar Hand has reached level 11! Progression to level 12: 0%!]

[Congratulations! Field of Shadows has reached level 19! Progression to level 20: 20%!]

[Congratulations! Focus Point – Utility (Shadow) has reached level 19! Progression to level 20: 20%!]

[Congratulations! Veil of Shadows has reached level 14! Progression to level 15: 21%!]

[Congratulations! Shadow Hand has reached level 19! Progression to level 20: 20%!]

[Congratulations! Shadow Step has reached level 15! Progression to level 16: 92%!]

[Congratulations! Field of Discord has reached level 2! Progression to level 3: 20%!]

[Congratulations! Focus Point – Discord Manipulation has reached level 19! Progression to level 20: 20%!]

[Congratulations! Strife Inducement has reached level 2! Progression to level 3: 20%!]

[Congratulations! Discordant Bells of Cacophony has reached level 2! Progression to level 3: 54%!]

Liam stared at the notifications. While there were a lot that leveled up, he noticed a pattern with the higher leveled ones. Only a few had leveled. This was just a proven fact he was told about before leaving the Tutorial Area. After level twenty it was going to be tougher to level his abilities.

He closed his notifications out and noticed everyone was staring at him as they stood by the Toxo Brood Mother Queen’s dead body. It looked like they had looted the body already and were waiting for him to see what was rewarded. As he walked up he noticed there were a couple more items there than normal.

There was a pair of daggers. The hilts were a dark green with small spiders etched into it that ran up the handle. The blades curve down slightly before curving up. The next was a black chest piece armor that looked like it was made of both metal and spider silk interwoven together. Along the rib cage were eight spider legs that looked like they were strategically placed to guard certain areas.

The last item was a rectangular box that stood up to Liam’s waist. After carefully inspecting the outside of the box he noticed it wasn’t just a box, but something like a luggage trunk. It had two small spider where the strapped that held it shut connected and a spider head in the middle where the top of the box connected with the bottom. Liam was curious as to what was inside this thing. He had never seen something like this happen before.

He looked at Artem, Blair, and Roman and they looked confused as well. He then noticed the look of recognition and longing on Gimmel’s face. As he tried to assess it, he understood why Gimmel had that expression.

[Arachnid Puppeteer Box. Item Rarity – Rare. Item Quality – Well Crafted. Description – Toxo Puppeteer Box holds anywhere from two to three Spider Puppets. Types of Puppets that can be found in these boxes ranges from: Scout, Fighter, Assassin, Guardian, or Trapper.]

Liam let out a whistle. He looked back at his three companions and saw the look in their eyes. He agreed with what they were silently saying and gave them a nod. He then looked at Gimmel and proclaimed, “Well, this is a great start for you. Congratulations.”

Startled, Gimmel swiftly looked at the others and said, “What?” He then saw the look in their eyes and stuttered, “N…N…No, I can’t accept this. I didn’t do anything to deserve this…”

“Yours broke when you tried to save me remember,” Liam stated in a calm voice. “I think you deserve this. Besides, we don’t have the qualifications to use it…or them.” Liam’s brows furrowed as he tried to remember how many were actually in there. He shrugged and said, “We’ll divide the rest, but you are getting this.”

Gimmel’s eyes started to water a bit. He held back the tears of joy and nodded as he said, “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. You did the work. Now let me see if I can harvest anything from this bitch and we’ll get out of here, alright?” Liam said.

Everyone nodded and watched as Liam tried his best to harvest what he could. With the help of Eri guiding him on parts he should look for.