August Intruder- Chapter 29 - Gluttony (Patreon)

[Name: Melmarc Jay Lockwood]

[Class: Faker]

[Rank: B]

[Growth Potential: Unranked]

Melmarc’s mouth was hanging open.

Unranked?

He hadn’t heard of an unranked growth potential before. Wasn’t unranked only for the class ranks? And what the hell was he going to do with Faker? How did Faker even work?

He was going to be a Gifted Pariah. Other Delvers were not going to want to work with him.

On another hand, B was a good rank. It wasn’t A, but at least it wasn’t C.

“Mel?”

He remembered waving away whoever said his name but couldn’t remember how. Maybe he’d just gestured, or he could’ve also done it with his head.

B-rank Faker.

He could work with it, right?

It wasn’t like it was the worst skill out there. And Fakers were also good Delvers. He would need to join a team that trusted him, though. And it wasn’t like teams ran around hating each other, right?

A team that trusted him wouldn’t have any issues with the fact that he could steal their skills, right?

Ark wouldn’t mind him stealing his skill, right?

“Ark?”

“Yes, Mel?”

“Would you mind if I s—”

There was a part of his brain that somehow saw through his current state of mind. It reminded him that there were people currently present who didn’t know that Ark was a Gifted. And he wasn’t sure if being a Gifted was a thing Ark would be happy to scream out to the world.

“Mel?”

This time Melmarc registered his brother’s voice.

“You’re kind of keeping us hanging over here. You know that, right?” There was worry in Ark’s voice. “Is everything alright?”

“Could it be the interface?” Delano asked.

Melmarc was still confused. What normal job could a Faker do? He knew there were Fakers who could copy more than just Class skills.

If he was one of those, he could join a sport and just keep copying the skill of those at the top. But then, what was his own requirements to copy skills.

He scratched the top of his head even though it wasn’t itchy. His hand was just looking for something to do with itself.

“Uncle, D?”

“Yes, Mel?”

Uncle Dorthna sounded patient. It was a good thing. There was no worry in his voice. Melmarc didn’t know why, but right now being worried about was the last thing he wanted.

He stared at his Class but spoke to his uncle. “Would you be bothered if I copied your skill? Like, is it something that could be an issue? It’s not like I’m stealing it and not giving it back or anything. It shouldn’t be too bad, right?”

“You can copy my skill anytime, kiddo.”

His uncle’s voice was soft, calm.

Melmarc liked talking to Dorthna at times like this.

“I take it you got Faker,” Dorthna said.

Hearing someone say it out loud just made it too real. It was always real. It just didn’t feel this real. It was like when your phone screen breaks and you just keep running your finger over it, waiting for that moment when you accept that its broken.

It had happened to him once.

“Yea, Faker,” he answered slowly. “It’s a nice class.”

Delano placed a hand on Melmarc’s shoulder, and he finally looked up at something that wasn’t his class.

“What’s on your mind?”

Melmarc looked around him. Eroms still had a bag of chips in his hand, but he wasn’t eating from it. On the phone Dorthna had a soft smile, reassuring not mocking. Ark looked like someone had shoved an entire rod up his ass and he was worried that if he took it out the world would end.

Ninra just looked worried.

“Uhhh…”

Melmarc wasn’t sure what to say. What was on his mind?

“I’m just wondering how I’m going to live as a Delving pariah,” he said finally. “I know it’s a good class. Some members of the top thirty rankers are Fakers, right? But I’m also wondering if I can do it? It’s Faker. Only Fakers like Fakers. And why isn’t Eroms eating? He’s just holding the bag and staring. Being a Faker isn’t so—”

He paused, and another thing came to mind. It was as if it had always been there but he’d just been ignoring it intentionally.

Delano’s grip on his shoulder tightened. “Marc?”

Melmarc looked up at him. “Earlier you heard a sound.”

“It was a small thud. Nothing important.”

“But you heard a sound. And you heard it from downstairs, after we were explicitly told not to go down stairs. Don’t you want to know what it is?”

“I do, but you just got a class. I wasn’t going to miss it for some small thud. It really doesn’t matter what’s going on downstairs.”

Melmarc looked at his friend through narrowed lids. “It could be Vlad doing vampire things.”

He watched Delano think about it.

Then Delano shook his head. “We can always get him next time.”

“But we’re going home tomorrow.”

“Then maybe on our next trip.”

“Ark’s graduating this year, and we’ll be graduating next year. We might not come here on our next school trip.”

Why was Delano making up excuses not to go in search of the truth of a secret? He was always up for secrets.

“Eroms, would you like to go downstairs?” he asked.

Eroms answer was a normal one. He shrugged. “I’m good.”

Yes.

Eroms was good because Eroms wasn’t motivated by much that wasn’t food these days. And he usually just went where Delano went.

“What if Delano and I said we’re going downstairs, would you come with?”

“Sure.”

Eroms didn’t even need to think about his answer.

“Is everything alright, Mel?” Ninra asked.

Now she sounded really worried.

Melmarc was worried about his Class but right now he was more worried about the fact that he hadn’t cared that Delano hadn’t wanted to go downstairs.

It was true that they were doing more important things, but his friend hadn’t even suggested going after they were done. And he hadn’t even been worried about it. So why was he suddenly worried about it?

It was like he’d gotten a class and boom, he wanted to know why Delano had no interest in going downstairs.

“Let’s go downstairs,” he blurted out.

He wasn’t really interested in going downstairs. He was just curious about something else.

“Why?” Delano asked. “It was just a thud, Marc. I don’t see why we should get in trouble over a small noise.”

Now he really wanted to go downstairs.

“Uncle D?”

“Yes, Mel. What’s up?”

“Delano never shies away from learning a secret. Even when we thought the principal might be sleeping with his secretary, he went out of his way to stay in school until the principal and secretary closed.”

“That’s creepy,” Ninra muttered.

“Trust me, it’s not. They were actually sleeping together.”

“And now that’s gross.”

Delano looked mortified. “It’s not like I spied on them or anything. I just found out later on when I saw both of them kissing in the parking lot.”

That wasn’t true. He’d all but stalked them until he’d found them going out on a date. The only good thing about Delano’s obsession with learning secrets was that he didn’t learn them to tell them. He learned them to satisfy his own curiosity. He didn’t go about telling them.

But that was unimportant. And not the point.

“So Delano loves his secrets,” Melmarc continued. “So when we came back this night, we were specifically informed not to go downstairs. But Delano heard a noise not too long ago and doesn’t want to go down. Now he keeps bringing up excuses not to go down.”

“They’re not excuses,” Delano complained. “They’re totally legitimate reasons. We don’t even know how your skills work right now. We should be more focused on that.”

“And we can’t find out right now because there are people around.” Melmarc pointed at the wall were the cabinet with all of Eroms’ snacks were. “Darwin and Max are just in that room. What if I use my skill and they somehow feel it? Then they’ll know someone in this room is Gifted.”

“So?” Delano shrugged. “We could just say its Eroms and his skill makes people want to give him food.”

“That’s interesting,” Dorthna said. “What if he needs space to use his skills? Somewhere large and empty. Somewhere like downstairs. It’s supposed to release a burst of mana, and there’s nobody downstairs right now, so it will be perfect for practice.”

Delano shook his head. “It wouldn’t make sense that he’d need so much space.”

“Why?”

“It just wouldn’t.”

“I see.” Dorthna sounded like he was on to something. “You said the house employs only Gifted workers, right?”

Melmarc nodded.

“What about you?” Dorthna asked. “Do you want to go downstairs?”

“Not really, but I wasn’t curious about Delano not wanting to go downstairs until just now.”

“And what’s the difference between now and then?”

Dorthna knew the answer. It was always how he was. When he got the answer, instead of just telling Melmarc and his siblings, he guided them. Asked them leading questions until they reached the answer themselves.

Melmarc didn’t have to think on this one. “I got my Class.”

“With a plus two to mental,” Ark added.

Ninra’s eyes widened. “Someone’s using a skill on you guys.”

She sounded both terrified and excited.

Melmarc was only terrified.

He turned to Eroms. “Last night you said you smelled blood when we got close to that room, right?”

Eroms nodded.

“And when we were leaving I smelled it, too. And I also saw someone.”

“You saw someone?” Delano asked.

“I saw an eye. It could’ve been nothing but eyes usually belong to people.”

“Or animals,” Eroms pointed out.

That was somehow a scarier thought for Melmarc.

“I hope not. And, Delano, you said Vlad might be a vampire.”

“He might have a vampire class,” Delano corrected. “There’s a difference.”

“Wait,” Uncle Dorthna interrupted. “Vlad? Like Vlad Alexandra?”

Melmarc looked at the phone. “Yes. You know him?”

“I do. I can assure you his class isn’t vampire, though. But it’s also not so safe that I’d be happy with the fact that someone might be brainwashing my nephew when he’s on a trip there.”

“Does it have anything to do with blood?”

“A lot of blood.” Dorthna closed his eyes in thought. “It was a very weird class, and some of his skills just felt… wrong. I worked with him once, and… that’s not important. But he’s mostly a good person. If there’s any issue, its probably one of his staff. You said they’re all Gifted, right?”

Another small thud hit the ground and Melmarc looked down. It was the smallest pop, nothing consequential. It didn’t even feel like something hit the floor, more like he’d just heard it.

“That’s it.” He got up from the bed. “We’re going downstairs.”

Delano looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “Why?”

“The fact that you’re asking that is reason enough.”

“And what do we do when we get downstairs?” Delano looked at him and Eroms. “It could be nothing. We’re two floors up. Maybe it’s just someone in the room under us.”

“It would be louder if it was.” Melmarc slipped his feet into his slippers. “If it’s this quiet, its likely coming from all the way downstairs.”

“What about your skills?”

“It’s a long walk down.” Melmarc paused, holding the handle of their room door. “We can talk about it and make theories on the way. Besides, it’s not like I can do any practical without accidentally informing someone until we get home.”

He opened the door and Eroms was already beside him. He paused and looked back at Delano.

“You coming?”

He really hoped Delano was coming. Between being a Faker and Eroms eating, he didn’t know the first thing about snooping around. Delano was the snooper in their group.

If something was really happening downstairs, then they definitely didn’t want to get caught. And Delano not being present increased their chances of getting caught by a lot.

Melmarc waited patiently, doing his best not to chicken out. If he was being honest, he was just being stubborn. He didn’t like the fact that someone had done something to his friend to make him less of himself.

And how had they even done it? They couldn’t have focused it on just Delano, it would be ineffective. Even if they knew Delano liked to go looking for things he wasn’t supposed to, it wasn’t like he was the only one like that in their class.

Off the top of his head Melmarc could mention three people like that. It was just that Delano’s was a lot. On a scale of one to ten, if the others were a nine Delano was a forty-two.

Delano warred with the idea for what seemed like forever but wasn’t before he let out a groan.

“You guys owe me for this,” he grumbled, snatching Melmarc’s phone from the bed. “And we’re bringing your uncle in case we run into Vlad and he starts to think we’re suspicious.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Duh.” Delano shook the phone at him. “It never hurts to have someone he knows vouch for us.”

Didn’t he say he’d worked with him just once?

Melmarc kept that tidbit of information to himself as they left the room.

The stroll wasn’t very long. The hallway was quiet. The doors to the other rooms were closed, presumably locked.

As they walked, Delano seemed more interested in Melmarc’s Class.

“So Faker, huh.”

Melmarc nodded. He didn’t really want to think about it right now. But if he really was to, the skills had basically been advertising the Class.

Knowledge is Power. If he interpreted it directly, it said everything. Then Bless Your Kindness.

He’d literally walked into the Faker class.

“You know Faker Classes aren’t bad, right?” Delano said. “Petty people just don’t like them.”

They were at the stairs now, and they took the steps slowly. Delano was the slowest of them but Melmarc didn’t address it. If they were truly under the effect of a skill, then they were lucky enough to have been able to convince him to even leave the room.

“A glorified mimic,” Melmarc muttered.

Delano deflated a little. “Okay, I know I said that, but it only proves my point. I’m petty.”

“Low budget mage.”

“Okay, that one might sound bad but it’s not as bad as you think. A low budget lambo will still work better than a tricycle. It’s like having the fake version of the best thing. It’s not the best, but it’s not so bad.”

They were at the bottom of the first flight of stairs. Two more and they would be downstairs.

“Your friend has a point,” Dorthna said.

Somehow in their silence Melmarc had forgotten that they were still on the call.

“A copy of the best is still better than the mediocre.”

That still didn’t cheer Melmarc up.

“Fakers are complicated,” he said. “Like Mages. I don’t want to have to solve equations when I want to use my skills. It will slow me down.”

“Maybe in the beginning,” Dorthna agreed. “But with practice it won’t slow you down.”

Melmarc knew that. He really did. But it was hard not to focus on the social aspect of Fakers. If he was going to be a good Delver, he needed to work with a team.

This wasn’t the comic books where he could be a solo Delver and be all mysterious and powerful. Yes, Dragon-knight did it, but she was different. She had her own familiar and could literally breathe out fire.

If he went into a dungeon alone, he’d die. He had zero offensive skills.

They were walking down the second flight of stairs now and they heard a sound. It wasn’t a small thud.

Melmarc paused. “Did you hear that?”

Delano nodded. “Isn’t that a girl grunting?”

Melmarc shook his head sadly. With Delano’s obsession over Ninra it was easy to forget his female attention extended to girls in general.

“It was a person grunting,” Eroms said. “Trust you to know it’s a girl. That’s why my cousin calls you a pervert.”

“Your cousin calls me a pervert because she made the mistake of swiping when I gave her my phone to look at a picture.” Delano shrugged. “Everyone knows you don’t swipe when someone shows you a picture.”

There was a loud crash and all three of them froze.

Delano smiled mischievously. “They must be going at it really hard.”

Melmarc didn’t think what his friend was insinuating was correct.

“Hey, Ark. I’m switching back to voice call.” He inched closer to one of the railings. “I’ll put it on speaker in case something’s wrong.”

The faces of everyone on the call turned stern. Dorthna’s turned thoughtful.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Ninra asked. “Going downstairs doesn’t seem very reasonable right now.”

Yes, it didn’t.

“Of course it is.” Delano was basically on the balls of his feet now. “We need to know what’s happening. For all we know, Vlad’s probably having someone over for dinner… get it?”

Eroms put a hand on Delano’s shoulder to calm his excitement. “We get it, D. But Mr. Dorthna already said he’s not a vampire.”

Another crash rang through.

Melmarc did his best to ignore it as he turned his attention to the call. “We’re not going down to get involved with what’s happening. We just want to know.”

“Then what?” Ark asked.

Dorthna was still quiet.

“Then we find a way to get out to safety if we need to.”

“Wait. Safety?” Delano looked from Melmarc to the phone. “Do you guys know what’s happening?”

Sometimes it was hard to tell if Delano was joking about things he was oblivious to. Now was one of those times.

There was another crash and grunt, this one clearly masculine.

Delano’s confused expression turned to realization. “…Oh.”

Melmarc nodded.

“Alright, then,” Delano said with new found seriousness. “We’ve got to be very careful now. If it’s as bad as it sounds, then we’ve got to be ready to run at any time.”

“I thought you weren’t that interested?” Melmarc asked.

“Not interested?” Delano looked at him like he was crazy. “Dude, we might have at least two Gifted fighting down there. Do you know how many people get to see two Gifted fighting?”

Melmarc shrugged. He’d spent the better part of last week watching Ark breathe fire and spar a little with their uncle. The latter wasn’t any much different from their self-defense classes, but the former was quite impressive.

Delano sighed. “I swear you guys with Gifted in your family don’t know how good you’ve got it.”

“Tell me about it,” Ninra muttered sarcastically. “But seriously, I’m against you going down there.”

There was another crash. This time it was followed by a whipping sound.

Delano shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll be careful. If it’s dangerous we’ll be out of the building before you can say I love you.”

Ninra fell silent. It was the kind of silence that preludes another refusal. But she said nothing.

Before Melmarc switched the call back to voice call Dorthna spoke.

“Mel.”

“Yes, uncle.”

“Do you have any idea how to use your skills?”

It was odd getting that kind of question at this time. Most people said learning how to activate your skill wasn’t difficult, the difficulty was in mastering it.

Melmarc thought about it and just knew he could. How? He had no idea. He simply knew he could just the way he knew a few mathematical equations.

“I think so,” he answered.

“Good. Now what you need to know now is that some skills can be used in a way different from what we think is their main function.”

Melmarc nodded. He understood but wanted to know where his uncle was heading.

“That your skill, Knowledge Is Power. What does it do?”

“Gathers information around me. Like a scouting skill.”

“Good. But there are other things. You said while it’s active, you can’t be hurt and you can’t hurt anybody. Technically speaking.”

Melmarc thought about it. “So it can be used as a defense skill?”

“Yes. Remember that.”

Then Dorthna switched the call to voice himself.

Melmarc looked at Delano and Eroms, shrugged, then slipped the phone in his pocket.

“Great,” Delano said. “He gets a defensive skill and we get zilch.”

“I have a defensive skill,” Eroms said.

Delano patted him on the arm. “Of course you do. It gives you food and keeps you from starving to death. Come on, let’s go before the fight ends.”

Melmarc was slightly stuck on Eroms claiming he had a defensive skill. Was that a kind of joke or was he being serious. Delano's reaction made it hard to tell. If Eroms was a Gifted, he would've told Delano already... Right?

Melmarc shelved the thought for now, focusing on the more immediate issue. What was happening downstairs?

.....

They didn’t get to the bottom of the stairs.

The last flight that opened into the grand stairway that led to the entrance’s main hall was interrupted. At the center of the stairway Vlad stood in a red coat. It was long and went all the way down to his ankles. It had black lapels and a black rope that served as a belt. And it was wooly.

But the fact that he was wearing something designed to keep out the cold in a room where the temperature was properly warm was the least of their problems.

The main hall was a small mess. The floor was broken in different places, small craters as if something really heavy had fallen from a great height in each place.

Melmarc counted eight.

Amidst the chaos, a young boy probably around their age, danced about as he was chased down by a lady in a maid’s outfit and a man in a suit. Each of them moved with enough speed to outmaneuver most people, but the boy was just as quick.

“Isn’t that your horny maid?” Eroms whispered as quietly as he could.

Delano nodded.

He said nothing. His hand reached into his pocket, and he brought out his phone.

Melmarc panicked a little. “What are you doing?”

“Getting this on camera.”

The young boy dodged a vicious high kick from the maid. It left him open to a blow from the man in the suit.

His steps had thrown him off balance, and he was staggering right into the blow. But he didn’t seem bothered at all.

The man in the suit threw a punch and the boy made a gesture with his hand. He wore canteens around his belt and they shook at the gesture. Everything else happened fast.

Their caps came off and red liquid rushed out of them. It coalesced in front of him and the man in the suit struck it.

It stopped his blow without even shaking.

“Isn’t that Joshua?” Melmarc asked from where they were hiding.

“Who cares?” Delano zoomed in on Joshua. “He’s a Gifted with blood manipulation. Do you think he’s an evolved water Elementalist or just blood specialized?”

Melmarc didn’t think anything.

He was only sure of one thing. “We have to go.”

Eroms was already moving, but Delano’s response stopped him.

“Go where?” Delano asked. “We can’t jump from the second floor.”

“We can tie a few sheets together and throw it down the window,” Eroms suggested.

Delano gave him a flat look. “First, that only works in the movies. Second, we’ve got three beds and three sheets. Not enough sheets.”

“We can ask the others for—”

A loud crack filled the stairway. Something struck the balustrade ahead of them and shattered it. Melmarc turned quickly. He leapt back, pulling Delano by the collar of his shirt.

“It’s rude to spy on others, kids.”

The voice carried all the way to them. It was young, strong.

Melmarc wasn’t sure what to do. They could take the chance and run, but if Joshua could attack them from that distance, he could likely attack them from farther away.

“Come on out, kids,” Joshua continued easily. “No need to be scared. No one’s going to hurt you. Isn’t that right, Vlad?”

“What do we do?” Eroms whispered, voice trembling.

“It’s a no brainer,” Delano whispered back. “We should run.”

Joshua laughed from where he was. “I wouldn’t advise that. If you do, I can’t keep my word.”

He can hear us from there? Melmarc wondered. Wait, what happened to the maid and the other guy?

Melmarc’s mind was spinning, searching. He wanted to ask his uncle but was scared to bring out his phone. He’d also removed it from speaker so he doubted they could hear what was going on from their end.

But despite all that, there was a more important question. What is Vlad doing?

He was an A-class Gifted. A former Delver. Was Joshua strong enough that he couldn’t stop him? Was Joshua an A-rank Gifted, or higher?

Delano took a step down the stairs and Melmarc’s hand, still on his collar, tightened.

“What are you doing?” he asked Delano.

Delano looked back at him, tried for a reassuring smile and failed. “Trying not to get us killed?”

“That’s the spirit,” Joshua said. “I’d suggest you hurry up before these two free themselves and try to go another round.”

Free themselves? Melmarc was confused. Now he was curious to know what had happened.

Finally, Vlad played a part. “The children are my guests, Turin.”

“Well, you know me,” Joshua—or maybe he was Turin?—answered. “I hate guest that roam about in the night.”

“They are just children. You don’t harm children.”

“And I promised not to. As long as they corporate.”

Delano took another step down, and Melmarc couldn’t bring himself to stop him.

This was all his fault. They had been happy and oblivious in their room. And they would’ve remained that way if he hadn’t gone poking around just because he could.

If getting his class was the reason he’d been released from whatever skill had been affecting him, then he couldn’t think of a worse time to get a class.

At least in your stories you can say getting your class was memorable. You picked it and were freed from a skill.

Delano took another step that placed more than half of his lower body in view. Melmarc and Eroms followed, trying not to seem as terrified as they were.

“That’s good,” Joshua was saying. “Just a few more and I’ll be able to see you. I thought you’d have like a barrier or something up to keep them safe, Vlad. Hell, if it was me I’d have drugged them.” There was a thoughtful pause. “But that’s just me. Come on down, kids. I’m waiting.”

Melmarc and his friends walked down into view. That was when he saw what had happened to the two people he had been fighting.

The maid and butler were trapped in bubbles of blood. They were struggling inside their bubbles, looking for a way out.

“Don’t worry about them,” Joshua said when they came into view. “They aren’t actually drowning, but people have programmed themselves to get out when trapped in a body of water. All they have to do is not breathe and their blood will be supplied with enough oxygen.”

Melmarc didn’t know if the boy was trustworthy or not.

When they got down the stairs and got to where Vlad was standing, Joshua motioned them to stop. “That’s good enough.”

He waved at Delano. “It’s been a while, kid. Miss me?”

Delano’s hand tightened around his phone. He was still videoing. “I’m live right now, and I currently have over a thousand views.” He’s voice was trembling but he pushed forward. “Everyone’s watching.”

Joshua shook his head. “You know what? I’ve disliked you ever since we met. I don’t really know why. You just sound like a kid who just gets bullied because he’s designed that way. I bet you get bullied every time you open your mouth.”

No one is designed to get bullied. Melmarc had intended to say the words but they died in his mind.

Joshua paused in thought. “Over a thousand views, huh?”

Delano nodded.

Beside them Melmarc realized why Vlad wasn’t helping. He looked paler than when he’d addressed them on their arrival. He looked like someone who was dying. Even his breathing looked troubled.

What did Joshua do to him?

In front of Joshua the maid and the man in suit had stopped struggling.

“Ah, I see they’ve figured it out.” Joshua stepped past them so that they were now behind him. “How unfortunate. It means they’ll soon be out. In that case.”

Something changed on Joshua’s face. Melmarc wasn’t sure what it is, all he knew was that he saw it, noticed it.

Vlad did, too. “Turin they’re just kids. You don’t harm children.”

“People change, Vlad.”

Joshua threw his hand forward and one of the canteens on his waist burst open. A spray of blood shot forward like a lance, straight and sharp. It crossed the distance, headed for Delano.

Delano flinched away from it.

Melmarc moved.

Vlad followed, but was surprisingly far too slow.

Eroms beat them to it.

Joshua let out a loud laugh. “Oh my God! Just look at the four of you. It’s hilarious.”

Delano had fallen down on one of the stairs, and Melmarc was standing where he’d once stood. Vlad had a pained look on his face and had barely crossed the distance.

The real problem was Eroms.

He stood in front of all of them with a spear of blood going through his stomach. He held on tight to it, as if trying to prevent it from going any further.

The sharp end of it had come out the other side, stopping just in front of Melmarc.

“I remember you.” Joshua made a gesture with his hand, and the spear of blood returned to the canteen. “You were the one I really wanted to give my chocolate bar to this afternoon. That’s a very strong mental skill you’ve got there. Too bad it’s mental.”

Eroms crumpled to the stairs, bleeding from his chest. He barely stopped himself from rolling down the stairs.

Vlad looked horrified. “What have you done, Turin?”

“Oh shut up cousin. If you want to stop me, then stop me. You have all the tools you need. See, the boy is bleeding out. That’s more than enough blood.”

Melmarc was beside Eroms.

He’d learned basic first aid as a child. They taught him that when a person was severely wounded like this, you needed to stop the flow of blood by applying pressure. So he put both hands on the injury and applied as much pressure as he could.

His hands trembled. He didn’t feel like he was helping. The blood had gone through Eroms, pierced his chest and come out the back. How was he supposed to apply pressure to the exit wound?

Behind him Delano was crying as he crawled up to Eroms. He was muttering a single sentence repeatedly.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Melmarc wanted to tell them that it was going to be alright. He wanted to lie to them, grant them false hope. Calm them.

But the words wouldn’t leave his mouth.

“Come on, Vlad,” Joshua was taunting. “Get all the blood you need and stop me.”

“The child will die!” Vlad said, his voice pained, panicked. Torn.

“What does it matter? He’ll die regardless.” Joshua looked around, confused. “Or is it the amount? Are you worried that there’s not enough blood to help you stop me in your current state?”

“Turin, no.”

“No, I get it.” Joshua gestured and this time the blood slipped slowly out of the canteen like a snake. “I thought the big guy would have enough blood. But you’re right. It might still not be enough.”

Melmarc couldn’t take his hands of Eroms’ injury, but he was well aware of what was happening.

We’re going to die. And an A-class Gifted can’t do anything about it.

There was something soul breaking about it. He didn’t want to die. He didn’t want his friends to die.

He didn’t want Joshua to win.

“I want to take out the bully-able kid,” Joshua said. “But he’s too small, not enough blood, in my opinion.”

He gestured again and the blood shot forward in a straight line. It made its way for Melmarc.

Skills could be used in more than one way. Melmarc remembered it as a lance of blood shot at him, and he activated his skill.

It was like muscle memory, like jumping, or remembering an equation. There was a brief delay before it activated.

[You have activated Knowledge Is Power.]

Melmarc felt slightly heavier, grounded.

A burst of something left him. It reached out around him like an expanding dome of dull, translucent, white light, traveling beyond him. It phased through everyone around him, passing through Joshua and his blood bubbles. Vlad and Eroms and Delano.

Joshua’s spear of blood struck him powerfully. Its sharp point hit him in the head and bounced off, letting out a dull ping like a muffled bell.

A notification popped up in front of him.

[Skill Knowledge Is Power is in effect.]

[You cannot receive or inflict damage.]

Pain filled Melmarc’s head.

It was brief, and instant. It felt like something had stabbed through him.

Joshua frowned at the sight, and the spear of blood struck Melmarc two more times. Each one was in the same spot and the notification flared each time.

[Skill Knowledge Is Power is in effect].

[You cannot receive or inflict damage.]

Pain flared each time and the force pushed Melmarc back so that his hands left Eroms.

Then he saw the white light returning to him.

The skill was ending. The burst of mana was returning to him. Panic flared along with the pain.

The spear of blood struck a fourth time but never made it. Vlad’s hand reached out and grabbed it.

“That’s enough!”

Joshua cocked his head to the side. “Are you now going to be the hero? Is it time for the superhero to save the—”

Melmarc’s skill passed through him on its way back and he froze.

His lips twisted into a scowl. “What the hell was that?!”

The dome retracted all the way into Melmarc. When it went through Vlad, he stiffened slightly as well. With the skill ended, Melmarc felt light again. Lighter, actually.

Another notification popped up in front of him.

[Skill Knowledge Is Power is concluded.]

[All stats are increased by +0.5.]

[Life forms detected: 6.]

[You have received 6 Potential buffs.]

[Blood Draw](Mastery 0.00%)

The Gifted manipulates blood, using it as a projectile

[Blood Rush](Mastery 0.00%)

The Gifted manipulates the blood within them to achieve increased speed.

[Crushing Blow](Mastery 0.00%)

The Gifted punches with eight times their overall power.

[Chemical Exchange](Mastery 0.00%)

The Gifted increases a bodily attribute at the cost of another.

[Video](Mastery 100.00%)

The Human picks up a camera and records a video.

[Gluttony](Mastery 0.00%)

The Gifted draws on the nutrients stored over time to increase physical attributes.

[Buff mastery is scaled based on mastery of skill Bless Your Kindness. Mastery of buff will begin reduction after eight minutes.]

[Would you like to select a Buff?]

[Yes/No.]

[Remaining time: 00:01:59.]

Melmarc stared at the notification. Suddenly he knew a lot of things. He knew Joshua’s real name was Turin Alexandra. He knew the maid was called Anais Alexandra (Ilkov). The man in suit was actually a butler, and his name was Tepes Veleno.

He also knew that Vlad was an A-class Necromancer. He knew more things, too.

When he looked up from his notification, the world was different.

Everyone had an indicator above their heads with information on them. Melmarc didn’t need to think to understand them. Beside their names were their classes written in brackets and their ranks just after.

The names and indicators each had a color. The butler and maid, Tepes and Anais, were C-rank Basher and C-rank Weaver, respectively. Each one was lit up in grey.

Joshua who was actually Turin was a Blood Master, B-rank. His name and indicator were red.

Melmarc looked down at Eroms, hoping there would be something to do to save his friend.

When he stared at his friend’s bright green name and indicator, he froze.

[Eroms Newt Amurun (Gluttony)(S).]