(Path of the Dragon Mage: Exiled) 19. The Value of Deception (Patreon)

The moment Corvus opened up his notifications, he  nearly shut it again. So many messages filled his vision that the light  hurt his eyes.

As if sensing his discomfort, the notifications condensed. Similar  messages then grouped together into several different alerts. There were  still a lot of them, but now it was manageable.

You have slain [Level 2] Ratkin for 5 XP (x22)

You have slain [Level 3] Ratkin for 10 XP (x12)

You have slain [Level 4] Ratkin for 15 XP (x5)

You have slain [Level 5] Ratkin for 20 XP (x9)

You have slain [Level 7] Ratkin for 25 XP

You have increased your Short Sword skill.
New level: Beginner 2

You have increased your Rune Magic skill.
New level: Beginner 6

You have increased your Rune Charge skill. (X2)

New level: Beginner 5

For reaching five levels in path required skill, Rune Charge, you have permanently increased your mana well by 25 points.

Congratulations! You have gained 2 levels. New Level: 4. XP to next level: 495/500. Mana has increased by 50. Health has increased by 50. You have 6 unassigned skill points!

Corvus let out a long breath. There were many takeaways, and he wasn't sure how to begin processing it all.

First, he felt a small pang of disappointment that his Sword Skill  had only advanced to Beginner 2, considering all the combat he had  endured this night. No doubt, this was the result from the penalties  from his Royal Blood and Ambidextrous special attributes dragging him  down.

However, this minor regret was overshadowed by the pleasure of seeing his magical skill advancement and leveling up.

The unexpected bonus from his Rune Charge skill  reaching beginner 5 was encouraging to see. 25 additional mana was  enough for most standard spells he had run across so far. It was like a  free rune charge.

And he had six skill points.

He mentally dismissed the notification menu. As he did, a whole new message flashed up.

Alert! You have a system tip. Would you like to view this tip now?

YES/NO

Curious, he pressed yes.

System Tip: Use the party feature to share XP when facing multiple opponents.

Corvus read over the message twice, and then once aloud. It still  made little sense to him. He had attended some dreadful parties in the  palace, but none had involved combat. He stared at the alert for a  moment more, then dismissed it. Those questions, he would set aside for  later.

Next, he pulled up his full profile.

Name: Corvus
Gender: Male
Path: Dragon Mage

Level: 4
495/500 XP to next level

Special Attributes
Royal Blood
(Sub Attribute: Second Wind)
Ambidextrous
Night Vision

Attributes
Strength: 12
Speed: 14
Stamina: 8
Dexterity: 13
Charisma: 15
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 14

Included attribute bonus:
(+2  Str Trophy Tooth Necklace)(+3 Spd Night Vision low light buff)(+1 Sta  Trophy Tooth Necklace)(+3 Dex Ambidextrous)(+5 Chr Royal Blood)

Skills
(6 unassigned skill points)

Basic Skills
Animal Handling: Beginner 3
Emotional Control: Beginner 3
Cooking: Beginner 2
Climbing: Beginner 1
Deception: Beginner 1
Firestarter: Beginner 2
Horseback Riding: Beginner 4
Leadership: Beginner level 2

Combat Skills:
Short Sword: Beginner 2
Wield Machete: Beginner 1

Magical Skills:
Rune Charge 5
Rune Magic (General skill): Beginner 7
Rune Ownership: Beginner 1

Health: 175/175
Stamina: 83/100
Mana: 175/175

It seemed the reordering of his notifications had affected his skills  and attribute menu as well. Corvus was glad. The pared down menu made  it easier to look at his stats at a glance. Also, at the rate he added  skills, the list could become unwieldy over the span of a lifetime.

The way the skills were grouped also confirmed his theory that Wield Machete was a combat skill. That was why he had a hard time moving it past  beginner 1 despite using it nearly every day while traveling to Solt's  estate.

That may be a good reason to place his six skill points in combat.

Corvus frowned. It seemed like a reasonable strategy, but something about it did not feel right.

He set that aside to look again at his magical skills.

His Rune Magic and Rune Charge skills were advancing nicely. The additional mana was the second bonus he had received from reaching beginner 5.

It made him wonder if there was additional bonuses or rewards waiting  for him when he reached level 5. He was only 5 XP away. If only he had  managed to kill one more ratkin…

Corvus glanced half hopefully in the underbrush, but the swarm had scattered.

No easy leveling opportunities there. He returned his attention to his skills.

Conventional wisdom told him to put the points into his Short Sword  skill. It was harder for him to level, and as tonight proved, he needed  to defend himself.

Thanks to his Ambidextrous penalty, he would always be at a disadvantage at combat skills which  used a single hand. Would it not be wiser to focus future points on a  skill he could be proficient in?

The sword had helped, but rune magic had truly turned the tide  tonight. Runes had sharpened his sword and held the Rat Queen in place.

So he would place some points in his magic skill, but how much?

His Rune Ownership skill was at beginner 1. Easy choice. He added a point.

Rune Charge would surely come in use for completing the Roan's new horseshoe quest. The same with Rune Magic which was a general skill and seemed to feed into the others.

Corvus picked at his bottom lip in thought, then pulled back his  finger's and grimaced. His hand was crusted with tonight's work. Gross.

Enough stalling. He would assign one point each to Rune Charge and Rune Magic.

That left three more points.

Of those, he reluctantly added one point to Short Sword. He may be open to a different combat skill, but for now that was the strongest one he had. Wield Machete was close enough to Short Sword that he saw no advantage in adding a point there.

Two more points remaining.

Should he add them to his Rune Skills?

Corvus had been taking his time walking back to the estate, but now  it was in view. There were no lamps lit from within the main building.  Solt had not yet noticed he was missing.

He planned to scrub clean using the horse trough and then hide his  ripped clothing. Thankfully, he had a spare tunic and pants in his own  pack. His room also held changes of clothing from Solt's previous  apprentices, though they were a little large on him.

Even if he got away clean, word of the ratkin swarm would get out.  Solt was not a fool. He might connect the nearby swarm-site with  Corvus's exhaustion. The scratches, at least, had healed with the  regeneration of his health, but…

His attention flicked to the basic skills. None were as flashy as Sword Work or Rune Magic, but he felt he should not discard them off-hand.

Corvus had lived in the palace for fifteen years. His father and  mother were hardly the only schemers there. The highly ranked servants  were usually at each other's throats for one reason or another. He had  heard tell that the gardeners and the cooks had a two-generation long  feud.

It was considered to be the highest honor for the maid-staff to be  promoted to one of his mother's ladies in waiting. Vesper had known this  and actively encouraged backbiting among the women.

Not that Corvus wanted to be that kind of ruler, but… he'd  seen first hand the value in being able to tell a good lie. When a  servant overstepped, sometimes Corvus had been able to calm his mother's  temper by dropping a white lie to pull her attention elsewhere. This  skill had literally saved a few servant's heads.

Deception had not increased since he first gained  the skill. He had not much opportunity to use it. When he did need it,  however, he needed it to work.

He needed it now.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he dumped his last two points into Deception. Immediately, he realized his plan to cover up his part in the ratkin swarm had been foolish.

One, he had to explain away his broken sword... which he had  accidentally left behind. Two, he had left evidence of his runes still  etched into the sand. Three, there were few places to hide his clothing  in the small stables. Any reasonable search would reveal them.

With a curse, Corvus turned in place and jogged back to the lake.

* * *

By the time he had located both halves of his broken sword (both  were now dull. The timer had run out several hours past), smoothed away  the runes, used the lake water at a clear part of the beach to wash  clean, and jogged back (with periodic stops to scuff away any footprints  in the soil), false dawn was beginning to brighten the far eastern  horizon.

His efforts had also gained him another level in Deception.

With the skill gain, he lit on the idea to shed his outer ripped and  stained clothing and hide it within the thick underbrush on the long  path back. The chances of finding ripped clothing there, or tracing it  back to him, were remote.

His Night Vision lost its effectiveness as dawn grew brighter, but by now he had memorized the path back.

Corvus  crawled into his still open window while clad in only small clothes and  boots. He was glad there were no servants around to catch him.

He flopped down in his bed, exhausted. Then, reaching under his bed, he pulled out the egg.

"I have such a story to tell you," he whispered.

First, he glanced at his skills list.

Skills

Basic Skills
Animal Handling: Beginner 3
Emotional Control: Beginner 3
Cooking: Beginner 2
Climbing: Beginner 1
Deception: Beginner 4
Firestarter: Beginner 2
Horseback Riding: Beginner 4
Leadership: Beginner 2

Combat Skills:
Short Sword: Beginner 3
Wield Machete: Beginner 1

Magical Skills:
Rune Charge 6
Rune Magic (General skill): Beginner 8
Rune Ownership: Beginner 2

Seeing the advancements he had attained overnight, he felt a sense of  accomplishment he rarely experienced before. Ridding the land of the  demon beasts seemed to be the quickest way to improve. Corvus smiled to  himself and returned the egg to its place under his bed. He'd tell his  dragon all about the ratkin swarm tomorrow.

Now, his eyelids were too heavy to keep open.

It seemed he was asleep for less than ten minutes before Solt banged on his door, bellowing for him to get up for the day.