Skill-Less Swordsman

I awake to the sound of banging on my door.

“Rowan my boy! Wake up! We got things to do, and plans to discuss!” I hear Uncle Moren shout from behind the door.

I glance at the clock that reads 6:00, about an hour before my usual wake up time.

“This early?” I moan, “You couldn’t have let me sleep in at least a little?”

“No time like the present Rowan my boy! Start packing your things too! We’re skipping town in an hour!”

I quickly look around at my ‘things’. A small pouch of credits, my sword, and about two changes of clothes amount to my entire net worth. If it’s any consolation though, I most likely wouldn’t have progressed my Swords mastery this far if I had anything nicer, what with my trait and all.

“Relax I’m coming.”

After about 5 minutes of getting ready, I head down to the kitchen to see Uncle Moren, along with two strangers I’ve never seen before.

“Uhh hello.” I say somewhat awkwardly.

“Ah nice of you to join us Rowan my boy! You all packed and ready to go?”

“As ready as I can be I suppose, and uh who are these guys?”

I take a closer look at the two strangers. One is a tall, muscular man with green skin that clearly indicates his Janin heritage. His eyes are sharp, contrasting the bored expression that seems perpetually placed on his face.

The other is a shorter, older man with gray hair and fox ears above place on his head. He sports a kind, warm smile when I our gazes lock.

“These, my boy, will be our bodyguards for the next few weeks. The tall one’s name is Gerut and the older gentleman’s name is Gael.” Moren explains.

“Nice to meet you young man,” the older fox man says, “please rest assured, your safety is our top priority.”

I nod to him before look at the taller man expectantly.

“Sup.” He says curtly.

“Uh yeah, sup.” I say, clearly expecting more than a one word greeting.

We sit in awkward silence for a few second before Uncle Moren speaks up.

“Alrighty then with introductions out of way, the time to get to business.” He says while grabbing a small wooden box from the counter and opening it to reveal an eclectic mix of crystals, treasures, and vials of strange looking liquid.

“First, my boy, your portion of the haul from last night.” Moren says before grabbing two crystals and a small vial out of the box.

“What are those?” I ask impatiently.

“Relax, I’m getting to it. The crystals are attribute crystals. They’ll give you 2 AP each and can only be used 3 times total throughout your life. The vial is the real thing you should be happy about getting. What it does is tell you what feat you are closest to achieving right now, and what you need to do to complete it.” Moren says excitedly.

“Uh, that’s it?” I say in a disappointed tone.

“That’s it? THAT’S IT?! Do you even realize how amazing that is? It’s pretty much a free feat! FREE I tell you! The details of feats aren’t exactly common knowledge you know, besides a few basic ones? Even throughout my entire, thrill filled life, I’ve only ever been able to get seven feats, SEVEN! In 60 years! That’s almost 1 trait every 9 years!”

“Alright, alright, I get it. The vial is awesome.” I say placatingly.

“Damn right it’s awesome! Now hurry up and use them both quickly. Unless… you want to sell them for money perhaps?” Uncle Moren looks at me while grinning, know damn well how little I care for money.

I roll my eyes and use all three items via ingestion.

‘Hmm, interesting, shouldn’t be too bad to complete. I’m surprised this one isn’t more commonly known though.’

“You done yet?” Uncle Moren says Impatiently.

“One second.” I say, not bothering to conceal my annoyance.

‘Now onto the AP, I think one into agility, willpower, and dexterity should be good, again saving one point for a rainy day.’

I look at my status.

Name

Rowan Attain

Level

1

Class

Race

Human/Janin

Attributes

Strength – 10 (+2)

Agility – 13 (+2)

Dexterity – 16 (+2)

Endurance – 7 (+2)

Perception – 11 (+2)

Intelligence – 10 (+2)

Willpower – 19 (+2)

(2 AP Remaining)

Masteries

Swords - 15

Temperance - 12

Stealth - 7

Sprinting - 6

Exercise - 5

Thievery - 3

Deception - 3

Killing – 2

Blending In - 1

Skills

(1 SP Remaining)

Feats

Early Killer - The deadliest killers started young, and once you've killed once, what's another? Kill a sentient being before level 1. Very slight increased progression towards your Killing Mastery.

Swords Prodigy - You've trained and begun your path of sword mastery strong. Get Swords Mastery to level 10 before level 1. Slight increased progression towards your Swords Mastery. +1 to all Stats.

Temperance Prodigy - You've tempered your mind to be as solid as stone. Get Temperance Mastery to level 10 before level 1. Slight increased progression towards your Temperance Mastery. +1 to all Stats.

Early Enlightenment - Form your core before level 1. One trait can be chosen related to your core.

Core

Sword – Your sword resonates with omnipresence.

Traits

Indomitable Swordsman - Your will remains steadfast and unbroken while holding a sword. Receive a slight boost to perception when in a tough situation. Scales based on willpower.

Meager Swordsman - A true swordsman needs nothing but himself and the sword. Increased progression towards your Swords Mastery while living humbly.

Sword of Silence - Your sword is silent until it strikes true. Harder for enemies to detect your sword coming. Very slight increased progression towards Stealth.

Dedication to the Sword – When without a sword, even the smallest of foes may slay you, but with a sword, giants bow to your might. +2 to all stats when holding a sword, -2 to all stats when not. Increased progression towards Swords Mastery, decreased progression towards all other weapon and combat masteries.

“You done?” I hear Moren say to my side.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Ok finally. Onto the next order of business. We are leaving the city, the planet, and eventually the Empire. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“Ok great! Let’s get a move on then, I want to reach the gate at the edge of the city by noon!” I say with barely concealed excitement.

“Woah woah woah, slow down there big guy. You wanna leave through the gate? Are you crazy? 50 credits says they’ve got guards and truthtellers swarming the gates like flies to shit.”

I deflate slightly before saying, “Oh duh… so how are we getting out of the city?”

“Glad you asked my boy! And the answer is exactly what you might be thinking! The sewers of course!” Moren says with a hearty chuckle.

“Ugh is that really the only way?”

“Of course not, but it’s definitely the best way!”

“Won’t they be expecting us to leave through there though?”

“Right you are! But their patrols will be so scattered that it should be no problem making it through undetected!”

“Ok but won’t they also expect the patrols to not be strong enough to take us down?”

“Your two for two today Rowan my boy! Yes they are! That’s why they’ll have each patrol set up with alarms to activate in case they are attacked! But I have prepared us well! While you were busy getting your beauty sleep, I’ve been up contacting a few people, and managed to get my hands on a piece of illegal magitech.”

Uncle Moren then pulls out a small, teardrop shaped amulet, with a large red button in the center of it.

“All we have to do is press this button as we approach a patrol, and BAM! No more alarm signal in the area for at least 5 minutes. Now we can only use this 3 times a day, so we’ll have to pick our engagements carefully.” Moren explains.

“What are the patrol’s levels going to be? And are we gonna… ya know… kill them and stuff?” I ask curiously.

“Their levels are going to be around tier 1 or 2, maybe tier 3 if we run into a captain. Should be no problem for our two big and strong bodyguards, right?” He asks, looking at the two men in question.

“Mmm.” The Janin nods.

“Should be no problem for these old bones of mine!” The older Foxman says jokingly.

“Now when it comes to killing…” Uncle Moren continues, “Yes, we will be killing them. When they took up a sword and became a soldier, they knew what they were getting themselves into. You’ve got to understand Rowan, it’s them or us here.”

“But… they’re just doing their job…”

“And we’re just doing ours, that being getting the hell out of this city. Besides most of these guys are no stranger to all types of debauchery. Bribes, abuses of power, even killing if they can get away with it. Trust me, the world won’t miss guys like this.”

“Uh huh… I guess.” I say with no small amount of reluctance.

“Great! Now, we’ll talk about what we’re gonna do once we leave the city once we’re well and far away from here, outside the walls.”