B2 Chapter 195: Revelations, Finale

Kaius stared at the description of The Veteran’s Blade—his Mentis Aspect—in shock.

It was huge—and far more involved than any skill or honour description he had seen. Suddenly, he was extremely glad that he still had an informational package to read, because he had very little context of what any of it meant.

He could, at least, assume that his new second stream of thought was due to the Glass Mind that had come with the aspect. It was the only place that made any mention of multi-tasking.

As for his Seed, the Campaigner’s Reasoning, he still had yet to notice any direct implications of the change. From the wording, it was combat focused, and sounded like it would be an extreme help.

Half of what won a battle was knowledge that was so deeply ingrained that you could act upon it instinctively—the best way to defeat a guard, where to stand, weaknesses, and more. If this change really helped him process that better, if it really gave him a better mind for battle, he was pleased with his change indeed.

Though, he decided to reserve his full judgement of the change until he had seen it in use. Hopefully he would be able to puzzle it out during their upcoming training with Rieker. Whatever it was, and however it had changed him, it was far more subtle than the lesser mind that his aspect had spawned.

Less noticeable than even his rapidly increasing Intelligence, he sincerely hoped that it was an indication of how integrated the change was, rather than its scope. For something that was supposed to be a continuation of Legacy skills, he hoped that it would be just as impactful.

Beyond the description, Kaius found his eyes repeatedly returning to the Aspects epigraph. It spoke to him on a deep level—resonated with his understanding of himself and his goals, though in a way he found hard to describe.

At a first glance, he had thought that it was referring to a sword—the Veteran’s Edge, that is. What else would hunger for blood, keep a man safe, and be reforged? But on a second read, he wasn’t so sure.

The more Kaius thought about it, the more certain he became that it was the Veteran’s mind. His mentality, focus, and drive. Drinking in all varied experiences, and plotting its way forward. Lighting the way, and securing a path that would see the veteran home—hale and hearty—when the battle was done. Regardless if it was won or lost.

It was a way he wanted to live. At the end of the day, his goal wasn’t to win any given fight. It was grander, and far further off than that. If he wanted to gain the power he needed to secure him and his from the machinations of those that would do them harm, he needed to accept that defeat would happen.

He needed to keep his eyes on the peak, and use every barrier and stumble as a learning experience, to better surpass them when they were next faced.

Kaius smiled, pleased that he had received something that fit him so well—the Campaigner’s Reasoning was perfectly suited to help him grow from his experiences after all—and dismissed the notification.

He found his team waiting, leaning close towards him as they sat with straight backs and sharp eyes.

Covering his mouth at their intense focus, Kaius shared what he had learned—including the mysteries that he hoped his waiting notification would solve.

Ianmus leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg as he stared into the fire—pondering Kaius’s explanation of the Veteran’s Edge with a slow rhythmic drum of fingertips on the carved wooden hand rest.

“I agree that the information package will likely clear up any misconceptions that we have.” the half-elf started. “At least, we can hope. With how jealousy the system guards its secrets, I would not be surprised if it withholds the full story. Honour reward, or no.”

“Surely this strange parallel mind is generalisable though? It mentions that it is from Mentis itself.” Porkchop replied, turning to face Ianmus.

“It’s likely.” Ianmus said, shifting in his seat. “But we cannot know for sure. The way I see it, there are three options. Either all Mentis Aspects come with this ‘Glass Mind’, or there is a pool of possible changes it chooses between—similar to the Seed but less personalised. It’s even possible that the parallel thoughts are entirely unique, like the Seed, and the only non-specialised boost is a general improvement in cognition. After all, these Aspects seem highly personalised compared to anything else we have seen so far.”

Kaius wasn’t sure about that last one. Sure, it was true that The Veteran’s Edge seemed almost tailor made for him, but he thought it was just as likely that the system simply had a pool of them to draw from that was too large to fathom.

People didn’t differ that much, and he could easily imagine there being others that were just as suited to this aspect as he was.

Plus, if the Glass Mind wasn’t a more generic benefit, he would have expected it to be more…tonally consistent with The Veteran’s Edge. As it was, he suspected that Ianmus’s first two guesses would be far closer to the truth than anything else.

“Well then, should I check the information package? It might illuminate a few things.” Kaius replied, itching to dive into it. After all, most of what society knew of the system’s functions was due to generations of research.

The system itself informing people of its capabilities had to be a first. Or, perhaps it was a second.

His face flushed with bitter outrage as he remembered the fact that someone might have received something similar for Legacy skills, and decided to keep the information to themselves.

“Please do!” Ianmus said, knocking him out of his contemplation. The mage’s hands were scrunched tight, whitening with the force of his suppressed excitement. “This sort of discovery is what scholars dream of—it seems that my hope that following you would lead to interesting discoveries is already paying off.”

Kaius snorted at his teammate’s antics, but dutifully pulled up his waiting notification all the same.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

**Ding! Informational Package Available! Access?**

Informational Package – Aspects:

For being the first in your cohort to develop an aspect, you receive information on their function, purpose, and development. Share this insight, or monopolise it, as you please.

The founding of the Aspect’s Triumvirate is the second step of the Path, following that of the Legacy. Where the Legacy emphasises the power of community and knowledge, the Aspect Triumvirate enshrines the potency of personal understanding and experience.

Each Aspect empowers and changes the focus of their domain—Mind, Body, and Soul—on a level far deeper than simple skills. The process of founding and refining them is an intense personal metamorphosis, one that prepares and strengthens the self for the coming rigours of the Path. All aspects carry a baseline level of refinement to their domain, but every Truth is singular and will confer a Seed that provides unique benefits.

As you further walk the Path, these Seeds will be nurtured.

Founded on personal Truths, Aspects are inherently revelatory. These self-discoveries are often first revealed in moments of intense crisis, clarity, or stress. Like many things under the system, intense battle with beings of notable level or strength disparity is particularly conducive to producing these revelations.

Once touched upon, introspection, meditation, and externally induced trance-like states can be utilised to delve into them more deeply. As personal understanding grows, so does the ease of future discoveries.