Chapter 60 – Another Assessment (Patreon)

Tom was relieved when he emerged from the room to discover that other children had found choosing their name to be as emotional as he had. Briana, as Bir had chosen to call herself waved frantically to get Tom’s attention where she hid behind the table with Kang stoic as always standing guard over her.

Tom held his position for a moment longer as he assessed the room. Treating the situation like a battlefield to manage his emotions, he clinically read the new names of his classmates and noted how they looked. Ma had chosen the name Eloise, and she was hysterically happy because her not-parents were with her. Tom hadn’t seen them since the encounter at the very start of his new life, but he understood they had visited a couple of times since. They, like previously, had no fate, so Tom couldn’t assess the size of their pool but they had a reputation. Both of them, despite having a child set a rigorous adventuring schedule. It was two to three months in the wilds and then a week in town. Those two were definitely not unnerved.

Tom’s mood dropped as he finished his assessment. He had screwed up. Nobody was sad instead the majority were happy with a couple of outliers appearing unfussed like Kang. That sign off-line on the obituary had really thrown him, even though he had a kind of known that the losses were going to be high seeing it written had forced him to confront the truth. His group had been effectively one of three groups of ten, but out of those original thirty only six had made it. Those odds were pretty horrific with less than twenty percent of those who started, surviving to the end. It was even worse if Tom counted those like Sven who had died before the trial had appeared.

A girl now named Adele came toward him and, recognising in his emotional state that he was out of his depths he retreated into the pseudo system room. It was prudent to let the perfect acting of the title shield him from discovery.

After a few minutes, with him only partially tracking the screens he managed to get his emotions under control. Almost half an hour of real time had passed, but the sacrifice was necessary. Ready to act his role once more he took back control of his body.

Morning classes were cancelled, as they were all expected to use the time to learn the names of everyone in their cohort. Tom was hesitant to do so and he was aware enough to know why. Bir,  or more precisely Briana as he was supposed to think of her had wormed herself under his defences. He was viewing her more and more like his sister Emily, which was an entanglement he recognised he wasn’t going to shake. He just didn’t want any more to gain that status. Keeping a healthy distance was important.

Reluctantly and compelled by the need to fit in he played the games the adults were forcing them to play. Every kid had to introduce themselves to everyone else and explain why they had chosen as they had. It was interesting to hear about the drivers of the different choices. About half of those with not-parents had taken the name they had been called as a kid before getting to the orphanage. One of those who had not gone with his childhood nickname had instead chosen the name Tom

He managed not to flinch as he met the other boy’s eyes. All he could think of was the power that was hunting him, a force of nature who presumably knew his name. He fervently hoped that the blue-eyed skinny kid with curly hair would not become their prey. “Why did you choose Tom?” he asked.

The boy looked at him curiously. “Why? Because he was the best of the heroes of humanity.” His voice had risen in excitement during the delivery.

“Yes,” Tom exclaimed forcing himself to cheer about the idea. “Go Heroes of Humanity,” Then he offered the other Tom a fist bump to celebrate. He reciprocated while the boy’s parents watched indulgently over him.

“I wonder how Tom fought,” the boy mused.

The mum looked at the dad in a warning manner. “Lightning and earth, sweet pie.”

Tom felt sick at how famous he apparently was, but he noticed there was no mention of his tanking responsibilities that he had taken on to maximise his contribution to the group. He fully understood why the mum would take that line. If this was Em, his sister, then Tom would have encouraged her to take ranged magic as well.

That thought sent his mood crashing down further. They were losing in the competition, and the image of his innocent sister coming into this world in the conditions caused by failure made him want to scream.

“Are you okay deary,” the other Tom’s Mum asked suddenly looking concerned.

He made a show of clutching his stomach and ran off to the toilet and then just sat there with his head in his hands, trying not to think. Trying not to remember their place on the competition ladder, Attempting to block out that echo of memory and praying to DEUS that if worst happened that Emily would be okay. He would do his all to change things for the better, but no matter what, he wanted her to flourish and be okay.

He was still disturbed at lunch and Kang picked up on it and made sure that Tom was at the edge of the table with only Kang next to him. After that, he ate in silence with no one attempting to speak to him.

When he got into the isolation room he glanced around it and pondered about everything that had happened to him and the Lair Boss. Even if he had gotten Touch Heal to its final form, it wouldn’t have helped in that fight. Spark on the other hand might of.

It was a decision that had been building up in his subconscious for awhile and he went straight to the relevant folders and pulled out the lightning one.

The spell form for Static Shock one of the precursors of Spark was hauntingly familiar. Spark and Touch Heal had been the two spells he had invested years of practice into within the tutorial. He didn’t assume that would help much with the initial acquisition. The lesson the healing path had imparted had taught him a simple truth. Through all those years where he had considered himself to be making progress in mastering something he had been deluding himself. He had only ever been changing the spell in the outer layers and not manipulating the inner core of it. The add ons and flourishes he had successfully implemented had shaped various outcomes but had left the simplicity at the core untouched. Recreating that was what he needed to do now, and the only relevant experience was the effort he had put into acquiring his healing spells.    

While he had never mastered the inner core of the spell relying on the system to do that, he was not concerned. One look at the wire frames told him that Spark would be easier to master than Touch Heal. However, he also had another, and better idea, he knew electricity intimately. With an efficiency well beyond what he had managed in his first attempt, he built a ‘ladder’ to reach the locked cupboards and pulled out the spark machine. Then he started it up and let the sparks it generate strike his lower leg as he attempted to apply the lessons he had learnt in getting his precognition spell.

A touch of his other hand against the healing crystal healed the internal burns the lightning shocks caused. Tom kept going and while he focused on manually creating the Static Shock spell form he also tried to sense the incoming sparks of electricity to absorb them. The first step was to feel the energy and the next to generate it, but thanks to April he knew how small a gap there was between those two activities. It would probably take him over a year, but he would put in the hours required to learn a lightning skill.

The cut on his leg dripped, and he focused on it clotting faster. The basis of his build development before getting full access to the system was going to be Healing, Lightning, Earth, Spear and Precognition. It was his plan to have both Skills and Spells in each of those disciplines to support his push toward an integrated domain. That would give him offensive options, with the final addition being Teleportation to get him in and out of combat. Danger Sense plus Teleportation to him was the perfect combination to avoid damage. The only reason he wasn’t doing something to create teleportation directly was because Dimitri had as good as told him that it was not something that could be developed organically. 

So, Tom would ignore it for now, but once he turned fifteen, he would use challenge trials to gain expertise. There were two that were close to New London, the town he was in, those two together, providing he was successful, would elevate teleportation into being a core part of his skill set.  Then, if that wasn’t enough, he would take a dedicated class to fill the gap and let him achieve his vision of him as a warrior.  

His calf bled, lightning crackled and burned into his leg, and he practiced his new magic when ever his mana built up high enough. Of course, he made no quantifiable progress, but it was a start.

The next day, after the reading lessons, they were led straight to one of the larger testing rooms. There were seven of them and the teenager who ran the hand to hand combat class stood at the front. Business like, he started, slapping arms and checking their stances and shuffling everyone around. When his hand touched Tom’s elbow there was a spark and Tom instinctively made the connection..

He guessed finding another reincarnator in this role wasn’t that surprising and nor was he surprised when he and Kang were placed last in the line.

Then the session started.

The first boy in line was blubbering before he was even called forward. “I don’t need to be tested, I don’t. Please Let me go. Please. You can Mark me as failed. Please We don’t need to fight.”

“No exceptions,” the instructor said sadly. “Show me something interesting.”

Tom’s fury didn’t even stir in response. He had long since come to terms with the fact that it didn’t matter how barbaric these sessions were. To teach them, the sacrifices required to survive in Existentia they were necessary.  The child was a sobbing mess before the instructor started the bout. The anticipation overwhelming them. Luckily, once the instructor acted it was quick.

Then it was Eloise’s turn. She had one of her permanent colds with snot running down from her nose, but she took the time to shoot them a confident look. Then ignoring her opponent she ran to the wall and then climbed it like there were steps on the wood until she touched the roof.

It was impressive.

Her descent was more clumsy, and she landed heavily. She picked herself up and stood proudly, her chest heaving in response to the exertion she had just done.

“Is that a new use of your ring?”

Eloise looked at her finger in confusion. “No, it’s a skill. How do you know about the ring?”

“It’s not a secret. You’ve used it all the time and we all keep track of who has useful artefacts. So if that wasn’t the ring, then what was it? Was it Air Step?”

“No… No… It’s nothing so fun. It’s called Minor Force Platform.”

The instructor looked interested. “Are they only for your feet?”

She shook her head. “Anywhere. I can create them anywhere... well anywhere close to me.”

“How far out can it stretch.”

Some, but not all of Eloise’s confidence vanished under the scrutiny. “Only a few centimetres from my skin. But I’ve only practiced with my feet. I can’t show you elsewhere.”

“No need to get worried about that. I know similar skills and It’ll get better as you level. Did you develop it yourself?”

She fiddled with the ring on her finger. “Well, this helped and my not parents gave hints.”

“Is that all you used? You weren’t shown anything that made you feel funny?”

She shook her head. “Just this. I know magic artefacts can help. But mum, I mean not-parents said no. I’m only allowed to use them when I’m older.”

“They are wise. I’m very impressed both by you and them. I’ll update your folder. You’re free to go.”

He quickly processed the next two kids. The first Matthew was a student in the hand to hand classes the instructor ran. And after seven failed attempts Matthew managed to impart extra power to a punch. He was excused without taking injuries. Stephanie the next called up fought valiantly but it was clear she had no tricks to offer as she was left in tears.

Their assessor then turned to Briana. “Our resident water prodigy. Do you have anything new that is impressive?”

Briana promptly got a glass of water.

“I know about the razor water. That won’t impress me.”

“It’s not that.” She tipped the cup upside down and nothing came out. Then she put it on the side and a blob of water crawled from it, keeping its consistency for over ten seconds before it reverted to its natural state and sent water flooding everywhere.

“Is that all?”

“Yes, but this is good.”

The boy shook his head. “I’m sure it’s an impressive stepping stone to other spells but it doesn’t impress me.”

Briana looked at him her lips trembling. His age and harsh tone had obviously tipped her over the edge. She was too shy to speak and argue, but she slowly raised both her fists and spread her legs, taking up a posture to fight from.

The instructor took the offer, he bowed then started throwing punches.

Briana, for her age, was highly coordinated. She had excellent agility and all the hours training her dodge meant she was competent at avoiding the telegraphed counterattacks that the instructor regularly launched, but it was also clear there were no special abilities aiding her progress.

Finally, he stepped back. “That was good effort but not good enough.” He blurred forward and Briana went down in tears.

She used the healing crystal and left.

The instructor turned to the two of them the moment the door dinged. “Lets abandon pretence. We all know we’re all reincarnators” The he glanced significantly at Tom’s badge. “You’re really him aren’t you?”

“He is.” Kang said quietly and then tugged on Tom’s arm. “Tom, listen I saw what they wrote about you. And how they signed off. I’m sorry for your loss.”

He didn’t respond. Kang had clearly noticed the tears and worked out why. He appreciated the sympathy, but wasn’t in the mood for it.

“What’s that?” the instructor asked.

“It doesn’t matter.” Kang answered. “It was some wording in the obituary that I felt might have hurt Tom.”

“Oh, that. I never read it, but wished I had. I didn’t know about the name being significant when I re-chose my own. Then someone in the year after me took Tom. They couldn’t shut up about how special you were so I know everything now. Your team, you, what you all did for the racial trait. Even if we fail, it gives me hope for the future.”

“We can’t fail. If we stuff up billions die.” Tom said harshly.

The boy, despite his apparent age advantage looked cowed. “Well yes. But because of the trait every level isn’t so bad anymore.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Tom interrupted. “I know the fact you’re reincarnated means DEUS thought you were worth bringing back. I don’t mean to be harsh. I’m just grumpy.”

“No, you don’t need to apologise. I remember when I got my name, my obituary was from my girl. I cried that night too.”

“Can we talk about something else.” Tom said tiredly. “Like what happens now?”

The instructor shrugged. “You tell me. From your file you’ve got two beat ups recorded. It won’t be out of character to show something now. Most kids have impressed the instructor at least once by their third test. How do we play this? And that’s not just him,” the boy clarified hurriedly. “It applies to you too, Kang. I’ll jot down whatever you demonstrate.”

“Put down Static Shock.” Tom suggested.

The instructor hesitated. “That’s a pretty weak ability to qualify. But I guess since you failed twice leading into this, I should be relaxing my impressed criteria. If that’s the case and you have more power or control than usual, then yeah. I guess I could swing putting that down.”

Tom grimaced sheepishly. “I don’t actually have the spell yet. But maybe note power and better than adequate control. I only started it yesterday but I’ll get both.”

“Actually on second thoughts I’m not putting down power. That can only come from extra mana and that just screams reincarnator.”

“Fine,” Tom waved a dismissive hand. “That’s not important. Anyway, there’s no risk based on everything I’ve seen I’ll have it mastered within two weeks. It’s safe to record.”

“If you haven’t in fact mastered it, then it might be better not to create a paper trail.”

“For goodness sakes stop stressing. Just note it is as inconsistent to cover yourself.” Tom clicked his fingers and the spell form was barely created but it had sufficient accuracy to create a slight crack of a spark. “See I might even master it by the end of the week.”

“I’m not sure that's enough,” the instructor said doubtfully. You were a hero. That can't be the only ability you've got! It might be better to pass this one with something more tangible.

Tom glared at him in annoyance, but he guessed that the reincarnator title made the conversation confidential. “If I had something better, I would have volunteered it wouldn’t I. Nothing I can do currently I want on my permanent record. But to give you some confidence that I’ll master Static Spark in no time I’m most of the way through to Touch Heal, and I have multiple crafting skills and finally I possess an Advanced Danger Sense skill. I’m also less than two weeks away from regaining Spear Mastery. But you know who I am. Touch Heal and Spear mastery are direct links to my previous life. I don’t want those abilities recorded officially because what kid bothers getting healing spells. Lightning and hammer are going to be what I show the world, so if you’re willing please put down Static Shock or otherwise let’s fight and you can fail me again and leave me as a bloody mess.”

The boy hesitated. “Fine, I’ll lie. Kang.”

“Quick Step.”

“Show me.” The instructor ordered and when Kang was positioned, he threw a telegraphed punch that was far faster than anything he had used against Briana.

Kang half blurred as he shifted to the side. The step only took him ten centimetres or so and it was a long way from instant, but Kang had applied it perfectly, more than illustrating the honed combat veteran in the younger body.  

The older boy nodded impressed. “That’s a great skill once you get about ten levels in it. Now we’ve got five minutes before I have to kick the first of you out. Is there anything you want to know?”

“Just tell us what you know about resources we can access.” Kang suggested.

The instructor launched into an explanation of the coming tournaments and the bonuses. As this was his final year, he was planning on getting third and snagging a hundred thousand community points rather than one of the more substantial prizes. Then he would use that to hire professional guides to streamline his first six months in the wider world including an escort to some of the nearby trials.

It was a good plan and similar to what Tom was aiming for. That and taking the required steps to get all the body titles like vitality sprout. One plus to all the physical attributes per level was what he was aiming for. He even had a plan. He would get magic first, then vitality, strength and finally finish with agility.

The plan wasn't complete as he would still need to find biomes to help him get the titles and the important thing would be to have the resources to get escorted to each of the spots he identified as having the best conditions for what he wanted.