Profession: [Anato Scribe (S)]
Profession Tier: [F-]
Profession Talents:
>[Inscribe (F-)]
>[Decode (F-)]
>[Infuse (F-)]
—
Zarek sat in a corner of his and Priya's condo, staring at the screen in silence for a long while.
Normally, Professions weren't supposed to appear—not with Zarek's current status screen, and not with his current limited Scouting Skill. But this one had appeared. Not only that, but it had kicked out his other Profession all on its own.
Usually, that required an external item of sorts, but this one hadn't cared at all. Zarek couldn't help but wonder if that was part of the reason he had that splitting headache before—was it because of this?
'An S Class Profession to boot… Why does it feel like someone is setting me up for a fall.'
This time, Zarek was mostly joking around, but he could sniff the problems coming around the corner. You didn't just saddle someone with this many benefits for nothing in return.
If that Godsfall Tear was truly trying to hide something from the system, it meant that it was trying to set him up to take on whatever burdens were in there on himself.
'Now that I have your legacy, I have to take on your burden? Is that it? Hm? Well, let's try out the first one, I guess.'
Zarek willed Inscribe to take root.
In a flash, a scroll and quill appeared before him.
'Gross.'
He was almost allergic to this sort of thing. Didn't the apocalypse mean that he could focus on battle now? What was this school-work-adjacent stuff?
'Is that how it works? I see.'
Once the Profession Ability activated, Zarek could feel a general purpose for it. It was subtle, but he wasn't as blind as before anymore.
It made sense that a C Class Scouting Skill wouldn't be able to see through an S Class Talent or Profession. But that didn't mean he was completely without methods to feel things out.
'Hm…'
Zarek began to draw out the crossbow-shield blueprint from memory on the scroll. He had not only seen the blueprint many times, but he had also used Temp Duplicate and Harmonic Recall to forge it from the bottom up dozens of times by now.
He remembered every little detail.
After he finished, there was a flash and the scroll pulsed. Zarek felt a sliver of Godsfall come from him, but then a substantial amount came from the surroundings.
'How convenient. It actually takes on so much of the burden for me. But I bet that's because this Ability doesn't come with many tangible benefits.'
Zarek's intuition proved itself true. After the blueprint stopped flashing, what was left behind on the scroll was a series of Matrices. It seemed it had broken down the blueprint into its parts, then translated those parts into another language.
It wasn't too shocking, mostly because Zarek was already familiar with many of these Matrices. It was impossible to forge a Godsfall Treasure without it having Matrices; these patterns were many of the things he already had to factor into things when he used Temp Duplicate to create a crossbow-shield.
But then he gave the scroll a second look and his pupils constricted.
'Hm?'
Zarek reached out and grabbed the floating scroll, his body almost reacting on instinct. He used Harmonic Recall on it directly and it felt like he was looking at the real thing instead of just a picture.
His mind sank into a peculiar state and then everything spun around him. When he regained his senses, he didn't pause for a moment, casting Temp Duplicate right afterward and forming the crossbow-shield again.
But this time…
It took the shape of a tattoo on his arm.
Zarek's eyes widened. What the hell…
He shook his arm, but nothing happened. Then he reached down, slowly touching it.
But his skin felt just the same too.
He tried something else, pouring his Godsfall toward the tattoo, but once again, nothing happened.
Zarek sat there for a while, staring at the tattoo. It looked like a series of complex gears, almost like he was staring at the inner workings of the pulley mechanisms that made the crossbow go.
That was when it clicked.
Zarek's mind reflected the Matrices he had seen, spotted the differences in the blueprint he was familiar with and the new one organized by his Inscribe Ability, and changed his tactic.
This time, he circulated the Godsfall in a specific pattern.
'Fail… again…'
Zarek failed the first time, but he wasn't surprised. Right now, his Intelligence wasn't S Class. Trying to feel out the intricate differences in his blood vessels right now was like trying to drive along complex roads in heavy fog. It was too difficult.
His blood vessels were too compact and complex. Millimeters of difference would send him down the wrong path.
He tried again, and then again, and then again, never losing patience.
It took him fourteen attempts, but then…
CHI!
A bolt of black suddenly shot out from Zarek's arm, piercing through the wall and out.
Zarek blinked. 'What just happened… did my fucking arm just become a crossbow bolt?'
Zarek suddenly started laughing. He had been through so much, seen so much—he honestly thought that there was nothing left in this world that could surprise him, but this?
He suddenly leapt to his feet as Priya rushed into the room. She attacked him in a sudden blur of action, but Zarek sidestepped and swept up her waist.
"Is this your attempt to kill your lover?"
Priya squealed. "Let go of me! What are you doing, putting holes in the room?!"
"How about I put a hole in you instead this time?"
"That doesn't sound romantic at all."
"You're right, let me try again. Over dinner, drinks, and a table?"
"And a table?"
"Yeah, the one I'm about to bend you over."
"Still not romantic at all," Priya scoffed.
"Maybe not romantic, but fucking hot."
Priya found herself squealing again as she was suddenly swept up in Zarek's pace.
The sound of tearing clothes in the kitchen echoed through the dim lights.
"I liked those pants! Can't you—oh god—!"
She forgot what she was saying entirely as her face was pressed into the table, a certain pair of cheeks spreading beneath the might of Zarek's palms, and then his tongue.