Chapter 26: Nodespace

It was like waiting for Christmas morning as a child. I woke up way too soon, and I stayed in bed for as long as was justifiable, before getting up and finishing my morning chores. I hauled water to the camp for the last time, finishing off my sentence, then waited at the center of the camp for Commander Galliard to pass around the reading slate.

Since I’d made it to the central clearing of the camp so early, I was one of the first to get the slate passed to me when Galliard began handing it around. As soon as I used it, it read:

Name: Levi Gordon (ID#: DD-333)

Class: Soldier

Rank: Man-at-Arms

Tier: Iron

Vitality: 2

Agility: 4(+2)

Strength: 3

Perception: 2(+1)

Focus: 5

Presence: 2

Skills: Skiing (Apprentice), Eye For Framing (Apprentice), Stealth (Novice), Spearmanship (Apprentice), Archery (Novice), Stone Carving (Novice), Etching (Novice), Knifework (Novice), Leather Embossing (Novice), Armour Use (Novice), Labyrinth Survival (Novice), Woodworking (Novice).

As predicted, I had made it to Iron, which was perfect, and I had two points of Presence—but surely, I was getting close to a third point.

Most importantly, that was a lot of Skills, and my attributes were nothing to scoff at, either. My Focus was the highest, and I was more than happy for it. Focus didn’t seem too useful at first, but with how it let me think clearly even in the middle of a fight, it was absolutely critical to increase.

At the moment, I itched to try using a Resonance skill with my spear, but I also wanted to attempt a Skill merge, and merging had to come first.

The others from my squad were looking over my shoulder as I assessed my attributes, and they were all beaming.

“That’s a lot of Skills,” Romance said. “On the Pillar, man. What were you doing?”

I held my finger up, then hissed, “Don’t make a big deal about it.”

“How are you going to explain it?” Elf whispered.

“I’ve got something in mind. But don’t make a big deal.” As I passed the reading slate to the next Dupe in line, I added, “I’ll get the merge done, and then it won’t look so suspicious. I’ll have less Skills showing up.”

“You have been working hard,” Shave replied. “There are excuses.”

After breakfast, we all travelled to the chore board, and we took our pick of the chores. For our squad, we were back to regular camp maintenance duties, and I got through my tasks as quickly as I could, then met up with Shave in our squad’s tent just after lunch.

“It’s advised that you sit or lay down when you merge Skills,” Shave said.

I nodded, then walked over to my bed. I kicked off my boots, then laid down on my back, staring up at the ceiling. I didn’t really know where to put my hands, so I intertwined my fingers and folded them over my stomach. It was startlingly similar to a dentist appointment, and I had no idea what to expect.

“Use your internal sense,” Shave told me.

“My…internal sense?” I craned my head up.

“Lay flat on your back.”

“Sorry.”

“Your internal sense. Close your eyes,” Shave said. “Push your consciousness inward, envision your body.”

I didn’t exactly know what he meant, and at first, I thought this was some Path-walker thing that I’d just never been taught. But the longer I lay there, the longer I recognized that I could sorta envision my body. I knew its shape, I knew where my fingertips were, I knew where they were moving. I had a vague idea of the bones and the organs and their location.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“First, seek out your Resonance nodes.”

I nodded.