Chapter 13 – First Skill
Cassius watched with an eager grin at the swirling wave of crimson essence shrouding him.
By now, he knew crimson was the natural colour of his essence.
Strangely — or maybe not at all — he didn’t like it.
’I would have preferred purple.’ He mused, then shook his head, pulling his attention back to the current situation as the light gathered in front of him, the Snake Eating Sigils weaving into it and merging together.
In an instant, everything settled. Three things were created out of the light and sigils.
A blinding light spilled outward from them.
Cassius blinked — once, twice — and by the third time his eyes had adjusted enough to see clearly.
He barely suppressed a grin.
"How interesting." He muttered. "This Aspect is checking every box of things I love."
In front of him stood three cards — big and tall — face down, their contents hidden. All of them crimson, but the runes swirling across each one were unique. And each summoned a different feeling in him.
[Choose one of the three cards and obtain your First Skill.]
"Any advice?" He said to Ananke, eyes not leaving the cards.
The Goddess tilted her head slightly. "You trust me that much?" She inquired. "This is your First Skill. Very important, it will greatly help you live long enough to obtain another."
She looked at him deeply. "And you would trust me with it?"
"Aren’t we partners?" Cassius shrugged lazily. "And I am your Blessed, with you having given your most unique Blessing. At this point, Ananke—"
"Don’t call me Ananke." She hissed.
"—we are linked for life. And I doubt you want to watch the one you invested so much power and time and effort to die like a worthless thing out there."
Cassius made a sad, forlorn smile. "That would be too sad, wouldn’t it?"
"Will your family let you die? Or are you not loved enough for that kind of sacrifice?"
"I am certainly more loved than you."
Ananke froze. She lifted her head slowly from the threads she had been playing with and spared Cassius a dark, cold glance.
He smiled sheepishly. "Oops." He said with a fake apologetic look. "I don’t know who said that. Still, let’s not waste time, shall we? Help your Blessed, Ana—!"
"I dare you to say my name again, Cassius."
She looked ready to snap his head off.
Cassius wisely retreated, while quietly noting that she had called him by his name for the first time.
He changed the subject, pointing at the three cards. "So which—!"
"The second card." Ananke cut in flatly. "It will suit you better."
"How do you—!"
"My power told me."
’For the love of all mankind, let me finish a sentence.’ Cassius exerted considerable will not to curse the rude Goddess.
That control nearly slipped when he caught the mocking grin cracking at the edge of her lips.
’She’s doing it on purpose.’
He sighed, ran a hand through his now dirtier white hair, and decided to be the bigger person. He settled his attention back on the cards, examining each one carefully.
He liked gambling. Enjoyed anything that had to do with luck. It was always thrilling, especially when he went against the odds and still won.
’Though I’m not sure I should be thrilled in this particular situation. My life is on the line, after all.’
Yet he was.
Still, there was no need to overthink it.
"I will trust you, A—! I mean, Goddess." He chuckled, raising his hand and choosing the second card as advised.
The other two glowed, then dissolved into crimson smoke and scattered on the wind.
A notification flashed in front of him.
[You have obtained the Skill of the 333rd Ancestor of Desdemona, Lady Amate Desdemona, The Worldburner.]
[First Skill: Bloodflame.]
[Description: This is the skill created by a being who enjoyed burning others for fun after stealing the core of a Dragon.
The Bloodflame can burn flesh and blood alike. Be careful of its use around draconic species.]
Cassius’s eyes lit up. "Oh, my sweet baby..." He said lovingly to his Aspect, relieved, having obtained a deeply practical skill with great effect.
He was briefly curious, even a little alarmed, about this 333rd Ancestor and how exactly this skill had come to exist. He had never heard of it in the game.
Even so, he was far more eager to actually try the skill than to dwell on that.
It was his first attempt at a supernatural ability on his own, after all.
Yet when he tried, he painfully realised he had used all his Essence activating his Aspect.
’It’s regenerating. Much faster than before, but I am quite impatient.’
He frowned and snapped his head toward Ananke.
"Do you have an Essence potion?"
"No."
"What?" He asked. "How come—!"
"I have one. I just won’t give it to you." She shrugged.
"Why? I am your Blessed. You’re supposed to spoil me."
"Giving gifts to a Blessed requires essence. Far more than you can fathom."
"I know." He said without thinking much. "But we are inside your Gate, it costs far less here. Stop being stingy. I want to try my skill."
"How do you know that?"
"I am a Desdemona."
Ananke paused, then sighed. "Fair enough."
She clicked her tongue, and something dropped into Cassius’s hand with a soft tak! A transparent vial, blue in colour.
[Essence Regeneration Potion (Tier 6 rank)]
’A Tier 6. Not bad.’
He downed it in one go.
An instant later, Cassius felt something like ants crawling through him, refilling his Essence faster than he expected.
He let out a quiet moan of relief, threw Ananke a hearty thanks, and immediately activated his skill.
In his excitement, however, Cassius paid no attention to the amount of Essence he poured into it, nor to his control...
...thus causing a raging, blood-red fire to detonate outward, expanding rapidly, swallowing both him and Ananke entirely.
"Oops." Cassius whispered awkwardly, standing unharmed in the middle of the raging fire, being the skill’s master.
Ananke shrieked.
"CASSIUS!!!"
"I said oops already. Let’s just forget this—!"
A punch landed square in his stomach, knocking the breath clean out of his lungs. His face went red with pain, his voice a croaking rasp.
"...damn it."
—End of Chapter 13—