DAY 60

Due to your use of Sense Presence and Fighting Aura, Sense Presence has been absorbed. Sense Presence is now a sub skill of Fighting Aura and will use it instead of mana.

"Finally!" Thadius shouted in joy as water cascaded down his chin. For an entire month, all he had done was run stairs and train his Sense Presence along with other skills at the pool.

"View 'Sense Presence'."

Sense Presence LV. 23 Intermediate

Uses your Fighting Aura to sense nearby life. Range and clarity increase with level. Cost 1 point of Fighting Aura every 19.5 seconds. Sense all life within a 34.5ft(10.5m) radius.

+Hide is less effective against you as level increases

After his success at the pool, he made his way up the stairs to his master's compound.

Thadius had come to realize that the pool wasn't even a fourth of the way down. Consequently, he had spent the first week and a half raising his stats in order to lessen the burden of his stone armor. After he was able to complete his repetitions in a reasonable amount of time, he had ample

time for going to the pool.

Thadius made his way up the stairs using his newly upgraded Fighting Aura to guide him. The tax on his Aura had increased, but it was above and beyond trying to use mana. Thadius had to repeatedly meditate to recharge his short mana supply.

A gruff voice greeted him as he walked through the entrance.

"Finished already?"

"I can use my Aura for Sense Presence now."

"Good. What's for lunch?"

"Really!?" Thadius sighed in disappointment. He had expected some form of praise. Yet, his master had brought up an important topic. Even with his Fighting Aura sustaining his hunger, he'd suffer tremendously if he was starving when it was exhausted. The likelihood of that happening had just increased with the recent upgrade to his Aura.

"I'll whip something up."

Yes, Thadius even managed to cook blind. He used Herbal Identification to choose his seasonings and vegetables. There was a metal box in the corner of the kitchen where the meat was organized. The temperature had dropped considerably in the past few weeks, so the box served as a cooler.

"Welcome to 'Blind Cooking'! I'm your host Thadius, and today's dish will be personal pizzas!" Thadius declared to his imaginary audience. His show had taken a sudden twist when it was revealed that the main host had been gradually losing his eyesight, and was now completely blind.

His cooking skill had risen as he continued to cook despite the difficulty. However, Thadius tried to make dishes that didn't heavily rely on his sight. Pizza was about as far as he would go in that department.

After taking the two pizzas out of the oven, Thadius received a message he had been expecting for days.

Your cooking skill has ranked up! Cooking LV. 34 Advanced

Enhances the taste of meals

+Beneficial effects are increased by 34%

+Your food increases max satiety by 10%

+ Your food can relieve some status ailments

'About time'

Thadius had been anxiously waiting for his cooking to rank up to Advance. He had hoped that trying to cook blind would lead to a breakthrough. Thankfully, he wasn't disappointed.

Thadius served the food and the two ate. It was going to be another quiet meal, but Thadius was too excited to keep silent.

"So what's after this?"

"Hmm?" Corban had been too distracted by the pure pleasure that assaulted his tongue.

"What's next in my training?"

"Oh," Corban cleared his throat, "now you need to learn how to hide your presence. It should be much easier now that you've had some understanding."

Thadius wasn't so confident, and it showed on his face.

"You doubt me? You could learn it right now, while we eat! You feel your own presence don't you?"

"Yes."

"First, bring your Aura completely into yourself. Trap it within, then shrink everything."

'You make it sound so easy!' Thadius wanted to shout. But if history had taught him anything, it was that Corban knew what he was talking about.

Thadius reigned in his Fighting Spirit so that it was solely within his body. Then he began to slowly draw his Fighting Spirit from his fingertips. The cold immediately nipped at his exposed flesh.

Using his heart as a focal point, he withdrew the warmth, or at least he tried to. The further he tried to draw in his spirit, the more difficult it became. He concentrated, and the warmth moved a little further. He couldn't get his Aura past his knees and elbows, but he could keep it there.

For reducing your presence, a new skill has been unlocked. Your prior knowledge has unlocked the skill at the Intermediate rank. Hide Presence LV.1 Intermediate

Reduces your presence to hide in plain sight. Effectiveness increases with level and rank.

+You won't be singled out in crowds.

The thing Thadius liked the most about the skill was that it was free.

"See? Simple. Now, when you get really good, you'll be able to hide your presence by completely separating it from you body. You'll be able to sense everyone while no one will be able to sense you. At least no one who's equally skilled at sensing presences."

"That sounds impossible. I can't even understand how my Fighting Aura counts as my presence in the first place. Aren't they two separate things?"

"Your Aura is the manifestation of your Fighting Spirit. And your Fighting Spirit is apart of you. It is you. Don't complicate it by over thinking."

"Yes sir."

"Now you do have your work cut out for you, I'll admit. Since it getting colder by the day, you'll have to learn it backwards. Instead of drawing the spirit in, you'll have to push it out. That will take a bit of time to master, but at least you'll stay warm."

Thadius' worries had been laid to rest in one conversation. As expected of his master.

"I guess I should get started then." He had long since finished his pizza. There was no time to waste.

"I recommend you walk deep into the forest nearby. The animals and trees are dormant, but it should still be able to level your new skill. You'll continue your stair exercises moving forward, but instead of going to the pool, you'll walk the mountain.

"Understood." Thadius walked out of the compound in a hurry. He couldn't rush his master, but he really wanted to get to his sword training.

'Is this why no one sticks around?' Thadius sighed as he used the surrounding vegetation to guide him into the forest.

---

The Tower of the Gods was buzzing with excitement. The Lower and Lesser Gods had been summoned by the Greater Gods for a celebration, and everyone was in high spirits.

Everyone except Yuna, Goddess of the Mountain of Yune. Her sleep had been disturbed by the summons and she wasn't the least bit happy.

The fact that they had woken her up was bad enough, but they had made her come all the way to the top of the tower for a boring party. There was no one to play, and everyone just stood around talking. Yuna wasn't happy at all.

She was a Lesser God, born from the hopes and prayers of the local villages that wanted safe passage on the mountain. She was small for her age. Although a God's power was reflected in their appearance, their reflective ages were determined by what they governed.

Since Yuna only had control over a single mountain, her appearance was that of a child. The color of her ankle-length hair changed to match the seasons on her mountain. It was a simmering emerald in summer, violet in the spring, then every shade of red and brown in the fall. Today, in accord with the season, her hair was as white as snow. And as all Gods, her eyes were a silvery grey, glowing with a light of divinity.

Yuna went to sleep whenever her hair tuned white. Not because she needed rest, but to pass the season. To her, winter was a lonely time. The people of the villages didn't visit her mountain once the snow set in, and most of her animal friends went to sleep. So Yuna decided to follow their example.

It had been during this particular nap that she had heard the voice of Thena calling her to the heavens.

That was how Yuna came to be standing amongst the various Lower and Lesser Gods as Thena address them from the Hallowed Throne.

"I'd like to thank you all for coming on such short notice. Today, my children and I have decided to have an official celebration for the arrival of the Travelers."

'That's stupid!'

"Now, I'm sure some of you have already met some of them for yourselves and may have even asked some of them for assistance. They are quite capable aren't they?"

There were murmurs of agreement all around. Most of them had indeed met Travelers.

Yuna had yet to meet one as her mountain was very far north, and was a considerable distance from the larger cities. She didn't even know what Traveler looked like. She was curious, but she had given up on seeing one all together.

"I'm sure you all know my daughter Arka." Thena gestured to the Goddess at her side, "She came to me with an interesting idea. She proposed that we get to know the beings that share our world by disguising ourselves and communicating with them. She believes it would benefit us to get a better understanding of them. What are their intentions? What can they do? What do they believe in? Who do they believe in?"

There were curious murmurs in response to the last question. The fact that Travelers could pray to them wasn't a secret, but the fact that Thena cared raised a few eyebrows.

"After all, we wouldn't want them to believe in those that would use their power against us." Thena smiled at the crowd below. Her tone was sweet, but those that knew what she meant whispered amongst themselves.

"Could she mean the Dark Ones?"

"She's obviously talking about Tegaia?"

"It has to be about her, why else would she care?"

"This is definitely about her, remember that fight a while back.."

"Shh....she'll hear you!"

Yuna had heard the stories about the Higher God that fell from grace. It had happened before she was born, but she had been warned many times not to be like Tegaia, the Fallen Goddess.

Thena clapped her hands for attention. "Let's not darken the this day with tales my friends. For today we celebrate, and tomorrow we go down to learn more about our new guests."

"She means, 'Go and make sure they aren't worshipping Tegaia.'"

"Shhh!"

Yuna listened curiously to the Gods in front of her. She didn't think anyone could worship a Fallen God. It was a widely known fact that it wasn't possible. But if these Travelers could worship them somehow, maybe they were scarier than she thought.

After Thena's speech, the party commenced while Yuna slipped away at the earliest opportunity.

She wanted no part in such a boring party. After leaving the Heavens, she sighed as reached her domain. It was tiny cave in the side of the mountain. She'd only be able to sleep for a little longer before she'd have to go looking for Travelers.

So she didn't waste any time going back to sleep.