For the next two weeks, Thane and Annabelle's lives fell into a familiar pattern. Every day Annabelle would wake up early to train with Isikeal, becoming more and more confident with her abilities until they were sparring with real weapons.
However, her stat page hadn't changed to reflect Annabelle's vast improvements when she asked Isikeal why he explained that to gain levels, Annabelle had to take risks if she genuinely wanted to improve.
While Annabelle had no idea what he meant, she had a hard time getting anything out of the rude and curt man. More than once, their practices had ended early due to injuries.
Annabelle had already earned a few small scars on her torso and limbs from not moving out of the way fast enough. When she looked at them, all Annabelle could see was a reminder of her failure.
Eventually, Isikeal deemed her good enough and moved on from combat. Their training moved from the training room to the streets. Every day Isikeal had Annabelle watch him as he lifted jewelry, purses, and more.
More often than not, Annabelle couldn't spot the lift, but when Isikeal had her practice on him, her hands easily found their way between folds of cloth and effortlessly undoing latches on the necklace. Even the Realms recognized her talent and rewarded her with the skill.
[Notice: Start]
You have learned the skill: Pickpocket Level 1 -(+5% chance to successfully steal an item lighter than 2 lbs.)
[Notice: End]
One day, Annabelle was able to undo a watch on Isikeals wrist. He grabbed her wrist and looked at her palms and fingers, "What instrument do you play? Your fingers lack the callouses built by plucking on a string."
Annabelle flinched by his sudden movement, "I play the piano, or used to. It's been months since I last played."
"That explains your dexterity. If you desire to play again, there is a bar a few blocks over. I know the owner, and I could convince him to let you perform for a night." Annabelle didn't know what to say. It was a different side of Isikeal that she had never seen before, "That would be nice, "Though I would want a few days of practice to shake off the rust."
Isikeal's lips pursed, "Shake off the rust, what an interesting phrase, I like it." Annabelle couldn't believe her eyes as a smile stretched across his thin lips.
Still, Annabelle had to smile to herself, "If you want, there are more phrases I can teach you if you want." Isikeal shook his head adamantly, "I don't have time to waste on such trivial things. You should as well."
Slumping over in defeat, Annabelle realized there was no gapping the bridge between them.
---
Thane's days, however, were spent in one room reading two books. After dragging a table from the bar into his room, Thane would spend hours glued to his seat doing every trick he knew in hopes of memorizing over five thousand alchemic ingredients.
It was enough to leave Thane with a throbbing headache as he tried to memorize each plant. When he couldn't take it anymore, he defaulted to reading the Bestiary.
Unlike humans, beasts didn't need techniques to cultivate mana. They absorbed it passively as they aged and consumed sources of refined mana like mana crystals. The mana beasts cultivated were stored in the form of a beast core, which the book described as a crystalline sphere made of refined mana.
Thane looked up from the page he was reading to stare at the egg bathing in the lamp he had focused on. From what Thane had learned, it could take close to a year for some species to hatch.
'I don't know if the thing is even alive.' Thane shook his head and was about to go back to reading when there was a knock on his door, "Enter."
Looking to see who opened the door, Thane smirked when Sonya poked her head around the corner, "You're back. How was the job?"
"Horrible, I had to hide in a pile of corpses to get away. But the payoff was worth it. I should have enough to buy your stupid crystal. They should have one, but I don't know about a cultivation technique, and even if they put one up for auction, it may not suit your preference?"
Thane raised his eyebrow, "What do you mean, preference?"
Sonya forgot that Thane was like a child when it came to common knowledge in the Realms, "There are many different kinds of cultivation methods, it's near impossible to find two Mana Cultivators with the same cultivation technique outside of a clan. For example, I use a technique called Wraith's Breath, which an evil cultist created. I was able to find a map leading to his tomb after I killed a mark. After reaching his final resting place, I was able to steal all his stuff and become a Mana Cultivator."
Thane nodded, "Does the Cultivation Technique have something to do with affinities?" Sonya nodded, "Yes and no. While anyone can use any technique, most Cultivators stick to an element or affinity and create a Cultivation Technique to reflect it."
Shaking his head, Thane was still grasping at straws. Seeing the confusion in his eyes, Sonya cupped her hands in front of him, "Maybe it's better if I show you."
Thane watched as Sonya closed her eyes and her posture straightened, "Wraith's Breath has me imagine an all-consuming void wanting to be filled. From this image, I project my mana, letting it take on the qualities I imagine."
In Sonya's hands, an inky blackness started to pool from thin air. Thane's eyes widened as he looked at the void in her hands. Opening her eyes, Sonya smiled, "This is how I was able to rise to the rank of Knight. I got lucky and used every moment to practice this technique."
Clapping her hand together, Sonya dismissed her mana and smiled at Thane, "Do you get it now?"
"I do, but I still have one question. If all you have to do is picture an image, why don't more people make their Cultivation Techniques?"
Sonya smirked, "I thought the same thing. While a key factor in Mana Cultivation is having strong mental power, most people below the Sky Grade lack the willpower and the connection to one ideal or element to do it on their own. That's what separates the wheat from the chaff. Even when using a Cultivation Manual created by a cultivation master, if you don't have a strong enough willpower or connection to the central idea, you can fail to learn the technique."
Thane sighed. There was still so much more he had to learn, "Thanks for the info dump, but I doubt you came here just to teach me."
Sonya rolled her eyes, "I came to tell you that we need to get going. The auction is in two hours." Thane jumped to his feet, "You couldn't have told me that sooner?!"
She shrugged, "I got distracted. Besides, you're the one who asked all the questions." Thane didn't say anything. Instead, he moved over to the dresser and pulled out the bundle he had picked up from the tailor.
Looking over his shoulder Soyna got a small look at the clothes inside before Thane whipped around to glare at her, "Can you go wait outside?"
Holding up her hands, Sonya backed up towards the door, "Fine, I just thought someone like you wouldn't be self-conscious about their body."
"I'm not, but that doesn't mean I want people watching me change," Thane said defensively.
After getting dressed, Thane looked at himself and smiled before flashing back to the day he picked up the clothes.
---
"Are the clothes done?" Yumi nodded, "It took a bit to gather the materials that fit your price range, and after you brought me the armor you wanted to be modified, it was a hassle, but I am content with the results.
Yami walked Thane over to a table where his outfit sat laid out to how it would fit on a person. Smiling, he ran his fingers against the leather feeling the cool material between his hands, "It feels sturdy. What hide is this?"
Yami smiled, "It comes from an animal called a Hellhound, it gives the clock and hood a natural fire resistance, and might I say it was a pleasure working on your clothes. I even gained a level after crafting your and the miss's outfits."
---
Stepping out of his room, Thane heard an appreciative whistle and looked over to see Sonya staring at him, "What?"
Thane was wearing the Shadow armor the Chapter given to him, but he had made a few adjustments.
The base armor was kept the same, but the hood, hidden weapon holsters, and cloak had been modified. Instead of just going over Thane's head, the hood wrapped across his neck, extended to cover his shoulders, and stopped halfway down his back.
The rest of the cloak was bound to the waist of his pants, rolling down to his knees. While Thane liked the look of the armor, the stats were even better.
[Notice: Start]
You have found: Shadow Uniform(Modified)
Quality: Uncommon
Durability: 575/575
Armor Value: 5-20
Armor Type: Slashing, Piercing
Resistances: 35% Fire Resistance
Effects: +5% to Sneak
[Notice: End]
"I see that you had some modifications made, but are you really wearing that in public?" Sonya looked at Thane, looking at his eyes through the hood.
Thane nodded, "Of course, I paid good money for this. Though another question how does armor value and damage value work?"
"It's rather simple if your armor type matches the damage type of the weapon you are defending against, you will receive the full armor value, which is subtracted against the incoming damage. If the types don't match, you won't receive the full armor value. The same thing applies for damage type and value." Sonya explained as they started to walk through the hallways towards the exit.
Thane frowned, "That seems a little broken? That means it would take about seven hits to kill me."
Sonya grinned, "That's just on paper, but combat isn't that static. And besides critical hits, ignore all armor, though those are hard to hit if you're not experienced."
Thane returned her grin with his own toothy smile, "Luckily, that's not a problem for either of us."
As they walked through the town, Thane got a lot of attention for his usual armor which made him stand out but not as much as he thought. However, people gave them a wide berth, which was always a plus in Thane's book.
After a bit of walking, they entered a new section of the city. The buildings became grander, with high walls closing off compounds.
Looking at Sonya, Thane realized the kimono she was wearing seemed rather expensive, and she realized why.
Thane let his mind wander and almost bumped into Sonya when she stopped, "Alright, we're here."
Tilting his head up, Thane looked at the large grandiose building that looked like a palace, "That's the auction house?!" Sonya nodded, "Only the upper echelons can afford the items and the admission to attend the auctions. Luckily for us, I did a job for the Blue Wing organization and that's how I got this."
Sonya held up a ring with a single blue wing imprinted on the front, "This thing allows me and anyone I choose to enter any auction for free and even grants us a private booth all to ourselves."
Thane smiled, "I'm really glad I took that bet."
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