Cutscene: Ninja Magic and Stabby Things

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Captain’s Woods, Brockton Bay

Captain’s Hill was a rather well-off neighborhood in Brockton Bay. Some would call it the area of town where the wealthiest lived, far enough from the wretched hive of crime and villainy that consisted of the city proper that they could enjoy their cozy, wealthy lives. Interestingly, the Captain’s Hill neighborhood was built off to the side of a large forest, leaving it as one of the few places in the Bay with any real connection to nature, with the sounds of small fauna acting as a sort of buffer from the drifting din of city life.

Today, however, the woods seemed strangely silent for an early afternoon like this, the birds noiseless and other animals that may have been present almost unheard.

That left the only sounds coming from the dense woods near the Captain’s Hill neighborhoods being the rustling of a large thicket of trees, the rushing of the wind itself and the grunting of one fifteen-year old boy.

The fifteen-year-old boy in question stood in the center of a copse of trees, his chest and feet bare. Once again, the young blond was in nothing but a pair of tight shorts but then again, it wasn’t like he minded the outfit considering he bought it for exactly this reason. Either way, his attention was far too focused on his current goal to care about something like that.

Greg threw a punch, his fist twisting slightly as it moved through the air, the wind around him seeming to swirl about the trees faster and faster with him at the epicenter as he moved. His vertical fist turned horizontal, wisps of blue mana curling around his forearm as the blond drew his arm back before the full extension.

“Fūton…” Pivoting, he struck out at the air again with a single palm, a look of intense concentration on his face. “Reppūsho!”

With the force of his thrust, a burst of wind flew from his gathered palms, striking the trunk of a young tree and forcing its weak branches to tremble violently.

Spinning rapidly once more as if to build up momentum, he faced the same tree again, this time thrusting both palms forward violently. “Daitoppa!”

With the shout, an explosion of air burst from his palms, far larger and far more violent the previous one. Dense enough to be seen as a beach ball-sized collection of air, it rushed towards the tree just a few meters away and struck it hard. As the wind ball dispersed with the force of a gale, thick branches fell from the sapling, hitting the ground and scattering fresh leaves into the air.

A moment later, he dropped into another stance, mana thickening around his limbs in a blue aura. “Reinforcement!” A flash of yellow lit his body up for an instant and Greg rushed toward the thickest tree around him, legs propelling him forward at over forty miles an hour.

Without pausing, the soles of his feet met the tree trunk and Greg didn’t stop, his momentum carrying him upwards as mana coated his feet. Halfway up the tree itself, before his concentration could give out, Greg sprung off the tree, reinforced legs launching him away with an explosive spray of shattered bark.

Flipping over in mid-air, the blond righted himself and launched a horizontal kick, the attack aimed in the direction of the same large tree he jumped off of. Wind wrapped around his leg, in a collection of air dense enough to be translucent, suddenly shot forward in the shape of a crescent and struck the tree. “Rankyaku!”

Where the blade of wind landed, a thick slash appeared on the tree, digging into the wood hard enough to leave a wide line of stripped bark on the trunk itself.

The glass around him flattened as he landed, his blue aura dispersing as his feet touched down, both softening his fall and sending out a soft gale of wind in a circle around him. Shaking his head, Greg let out a long breath, a slight smile on his face as he surveyed his handiwork.

Reinforcement Level Up!

17→18

Acrobatics Level Up!

12→13

Surface Adhesion Level Up!

8→9

Beginner Combat Level Up!

3→4

Language: Japanese Level Up!

6→7

The teen glanced upwards, obvious confusion clear in his expression as he waited for something else, ignoring the primary pop-up as if it was of no importance. Where are they? When nothing happened after a few seconds, he turned around and gave his friend a similarly confused glance.

Sparky himself sat in a beach chair nestled between two intertwined trees, an umbrella attached to the back of the folding chair acting as protection from falling foliage. By his side sat an entire box of Capri-Sun drinks and several cartons of sugar cookies and donuts, both with enough frosting to border on the verge of nauseating.

The long-haired teen raised his gaze from his large sketchpad, letting the drawing tablet fall into his lap as he lifted a hand to his face. Lowering a pair of black sunglasses from his eyes, he gave Greg a disinterested glance.

“Let me guess, no luck?”

Hands clenched at his sides, the blond made a constipated face before finally letting out an explosive sigh, the action more an exhalation of breath than any indication of emotion. “No… not yet.”

“Imagine my shock,” Sparky replied, his voice conveying no shock at all. Without looking, he reached over and pulled out a pastry from one of the see-through containers, taking a large bite.

“Dude…” Greg whined, shoulders slumping slightly.

“I don’t know what you want me to say, brah. It’s been a good thirty minutes. If you keep at it, there’ll be no trees left,” Sparky replied, speaking through a mouthful of doughnut. “How ‘bout cutting your losses and working on something else?”

“One more try?” Greg shot him a smile, a weak one but one with traces of optimism still visible in it.

Sparky didn’t flinch. “No.”

His grin fading quickly, Greg whined again, “It should work, though!”

“I think I mentioned something about cutting your losses.”

“But… b-but,” Greg paused, his frown turning downwards into a full pout, “this should work! I named them and everything! I should have made at least five different skills by now!”

“You already have aerokinesis, brah,” his friend spoke up again, not even looking at him as he talked. “Maybe everything you’re trying to do just counts as aerokinesis in your head so you can’t make anymore skills with it.”

“Bu-”

“Bro.” Sparky frowned slightly, shooting Greg a slightly more intense look over his glasses. “You’re literally using names from Naruto just to look cool. Just give it up.”

With a click of his tongue, Greg rolled his eyes. “Fine, let’s do something else. You got the balls?”

Sparky rolled his eyes, his head tilting slightly as he placed an upraised palm under his chin. “I skipped out on band practice for this, you know.”

“Glad you could make it,” Greg replied back, only a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“T-Bone’s not exactly happy about me skipping the last four practices, by the way.” Sparky huffed, hands going back behind his head to pull his hair into a ponytail, a black rubber band at the tips of his enclosed fingers.

Greg rolled his eyes at the mention of that name. T-Bone, one of Sparky’s other “friends” was a drummer and basically a Merchant in all but the clothing, and even that wasn’t too far from what the gang of drug dealers wore.

Greg felt he was bad news.

Sparky thought Greg was exaggerating.

“You can tell your high-school dropout twenty-year old friend that maybe he can do something else with his weekends,” Greg sneered. “Like, I dunno, get a job or something.”

Sparky snorted in response, shooting Greg a curious glance. “Wow, just say you’re jealous, brah. I won’t judge.”

“I’m not jealous,” Greg whined for the third time that afternoon, his face pulled down into a slight pout.

“I could almost believe that if you weren’t pouting.”

Greg shook his head, giving Sparky a sharp glare. “Whatever, let’s just do this.”

Sparky shrugged in return, a smug smirk on his face, and made to get up out of the chair.

Greg, on the other hand, dropped into a stance and began to seed the air with his mana once more, his thoughts moving rather quickly as he tried to focus.

Air was… a very strange thing to actually feel.

Not just in the tactile sense, either.

With his mana all active and around his body like this, Greg could literally feel it around him but moving it? That was an entirely different situation.

Strangely enough, the use of aerokinesis was far closer to airbending than Greg had expected, the movements of his body contributing to his effects on the element itself.

Actually manipulating the wind itself was… Well, it was a doozy to actually describe. The highly simplified explanation he gave Sparky barely scratched the surface of what it was to control the air. Hell, he barely understood what he was actually doing.

Simply by letting his mana drift around his body in wisps, Greg could feel the air around him in a way he doubted anyone other than Stormtiger could. Controlling the air itself was little more than him using the momentum that already existed in the air currents and moving it along a set path with his mana acting as a sort of engine for the whole process, giving it far more power than it should rightly have.

Movement contributed to the motion of the air, his momentum, speed and mana enhancing the effects of his amateur blasts and pushes of wind. That had been the understanding he had gained from meditation the other day, along with an understanding of how to actually move the air around him.

Sure, he didn’t have to shout out move names while he did it, but that was part of the fun.

The other, somewhat less important, understanding he had gained was that using air as a shield, in a purely defensive manner, required stability; that of his body and mind. In contrast to what he had learned from television, using the air as a shield was far less about maneuverability or being light on one’s feet. Instead, it was far more about understanding how the object he was defending himself from interacted with the air and the best way to move it aside with the wind itself.

Or, barring that, block it completely before it ever had a hope of touching him.

Still, without movement, that was easier said than done.

Sparky dropped to the floor, pulling out a black backpack that rested underneath the beach chair he had been relaxing on. The bag itself was bulging and as Sparky unzipped it, it was easy to see why.

The insides of the bag were filled with balls. Yellow tennis balls, to be exact. They were all slightly stained and frayed, Greg having bought as many as he could on a run through the thrift store for the purposes of training. Buying them brand-new had been an option but he wasn’t made of money. He had other, far more important, purchases to make so he couldn’t afford to be too frivolous with his remaining cash.

Sparky lifted the first ball from the bag resting by the chair, tossing it up and down a few times as his eyes tracked the motion of the yellow sphere. “You ready?”

Greg narrowed his eyes, the air around him thickening slightly as a blue haze formed around his body, the wind wrapped around him like a cloak. “Distract me,” Greg spoke up, face tightly scrunched up as he tried to concentrate on keeping the cloak active.

“What, brah?”

“Distract me,” Greg repeated, glancing up slightly to meet Sparky’s eyes. “This is practice and I need to be able to pull this off without thinking too hard.”

Sparky tilted his head, loose bangs falling into his eyes for a moment before he calmly shrugged. “No problem. How about just talking for now?” As he said this, he tossed a ball at Greg, the throw itself not all that hard. “So, spring break? Plans?”

“Going to Hershey’s Park with Mom.” Greg grunted as he slapped the air with a hand, a powerful gust of wind sending the yellow ball flying back at Sparky.

Hand snapping back, Sparky caught the tennis ball, a wince on his face. “Huh. Nice. You like it?”

“Always do. What’s not to love about Hershey’s Park?

“Hn.” Sparky hummed, closing one eye as he tossed the ball up into the air again, as if testing it for something. “So, have fun on your - ugh! - date?” With a hard grunt, Sparky tossed the ball back again, harder than before.

“Yeah, we met at the Boardwalk for lunch, then we went to the arcade.” Hands curled into claws, Greg pulled at the air, sending the ball flying into the trees, the sound of rustling branches and falling leaves a mark of its entrance into the forest proper.

“Wow, the arcade?” Sparky’s voice was anything but sincere, sarcasm pouring off him in waves as he tossed another ball. “Did you take her to the drive-in and the malt shop too? Stop off at Make-Out Point after?”

“No, you jerk,” Greg replied, pouting slightly. “Besides, I think she had fun.” With a sweeping movement of both his arms, Greg knocked the ball of course, sending it rolling to the ground a few meters away.

“You think?”

“Well, I won her some prizes, showed how her to play some games got her some funnel cake but she didn’t really eat it, and…” Greg broke off, wincing slightly as he remembered something.

“What?” Sparky asked, breaking out the suspicious, judgy tone again. “What did you do now?” The ball he threw this time was faster than the ones before it, curving slightly in the air as Sparky through it.

“Nothing,” Greg said far too quickly, his face red. As the ball entered his seven-and-a-half meter range, he could already feel it coming through the air. Ironically, the curve Sparky had put into only helped him deflect it easier with the wind.

Why? He wasn’t exactly sure.

“The Whack-A-Mole machine just broke while Emma was playing it.”

“While Emma was playing it.” Sparky’s face was the epitome of unamused.

“I… uh,” Greg winced again, laughing haltingly. “...might have tried to impress Emma and kinda… might have… maybe… broken the Whack-A-Mole machine with some… uh, let’s call it, overzealous pounding.”

Sparky blinked, the closing and opening of his eyes somehow taking much longer than it should. After a moment, he let out a sigh, the sides of his mouth twitching before he spoke.

“...Well… at the very least, you didn’t break Emma with any overzealous pounding, right?” A dirty grin grew across his friend’s face, his eyebrows wiggling up and down suggestively. “Am I right or am I right?”

Now, it was Greg’s turn to blink in surprise, his face reddening even further even as he deflected another approaching ball with a hard push of air. “You’re a terrible person.”

“Which of us broke a Whack-A-Mole game ‘cause they were horny for a ginger?”

“...You’re still a terrible person.” Three circular walls of air, layered on top of each other, sapped the momentum from the fastball Sparky threw at him, Greg not even blinking as the yellow projectile fell to the floor a meter away from him.

Reflexes Level Up!

7→8

“Just saying. I mean I know I could never go for a redhead. Could you imagine a Jewish Black Samoan Hispanic Ginger?” Sparky retched, visibly shuddering but Greg could tell he was mostly joking.

“I’m disgusted just saying it,” Sparky continued. “Ughhh, I mean seriously, it would be an abomination unto nature… like a dog fucking a cat… fucking a horse… fucking a dolphin.” Finishing his grotesque analogy, Sparky winked at his blond friend with a smirk on his face.

“...Terrible. Person.” Greg said, face blank.

Basic Aerokinesis Level Up!

3→4 – o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

Greg stood in front of a tree again, staring carefully at it as if pondering the nature of oak as a material. After taking a short snack break with Sparky, Greg found himself ready to practice what he really came out here for.

After all, it was one of the main reasons he went out shopping yesterday.

The trip to Joe’s Pawn Shop hadn’t been as fruitful as he would like, to his dismay. Several of the blades that the eponymous Joe had advertised on his cheaply made 90’s era website were already sold off to some guy with an interest in Oriental weaponry.

That included the one he had his eye on, the fully combat-capable katana for the low, low price of $375.

He had felt like screaming his head off at the loss when the pawn store owner bluntly broke the news to him but, alas, he couldn’t. People tended to frown on teenagers throwing tantrums in public and Sparky would’ve gotten pissed if he embarrassed him for no reason like that.

Still, it rankled him like you wouldn’t believe. ‘Glorious Nippon Steel!’ had almost been within his grasp, and some filthy gaijin had snatched it away from him. He would know vengeance. He would have retribution. He had sworn it on his life!

Then, Greg realized he didn’t know anything about his sworn arch-enemy other than he was some kind of sword Otaku, so he decided to let the matter go.

Reluctantly.

Anyway, he ended up with a German bastard sword for about a hundred and thirty bucks. Despite the lack of design or anything that really made it standout, the price was a steal, especially when you considered the fact that it was a real sword.

German Bastard Sword [Windlass Steelcrafts]

A combat-ready model of the German Bastard Sword.

+ 2 to [Swordplay: Single Blade] ability

+ 15% [Bleeding] damage

+ 5 to [Parry] ability

Durability: 99%

The price had been originally higher, with Joe selling it for somewhere around three-hundred but for some reason, upon Greg identifying it as German, the dark-skinned man had given him a long, careful look and decided to change his tune, dropping the price by more than half.

Greg wasn’t sure why, really, but he wasn’t gonna look a gift horse in the mouth.

Sure, it wasn’t what he wanted but ‘Glorious German Engineering!’ was almost as good as Nippon steel, right? Right?

Anyway, he had swung it around a few times the day before, earning an ability from using the large weapon. That had been an expected occurrence, of course, but Greg couldn’t deny the slight rush he felt at gaining something new. Something to level… It was like opening a new gift under the tree.

It really was.

Regardless of how good that moment had felt, now wasn’t the time to reminisce.

No, now was the time for leveling.

"Equip: Bastard Sword!”

The words flew from his mouth with practiced ease as three pounds of steel appeared in Greg’s right hand, his arm not dipping a single inch despite the weight of the hand-and-a-half weapon.

Moving his arm over to his chest, he held the large blade straight up, flashing himself a grin as he spotted his reflection in the shiny blade. “Oh ho ho ho, you may not be Japanese but I love you all the same, you big shiny metal stabby thingy.”

His gaze moved to Sparky, his friend once again wide-eyed with shock most likely at the nonchalant way Greg swung the piece of steel around.

Oh, Greg loved that look.

Sadly, as quickly as it appeared on Sparky’s face, the look of surprise was replaced with a frown, the long-haired teen’s eyes drooping disdainfully. “I’d tell you not to cut yourself but I feel like for you... that’d just be a plus.”

Greg stuck his tongue out. “You know it.”

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o – Swordplay: Single Blade Level Up!

1→3

Blunt Force Resistance Level Up!

29→30

Stamina Level Up!

8→9

Weapon Charge Level Up!

1→5

You have gained 1 STR

You have gained 1 VIT Greg Lucas Veder Age: 15 (and three-quarters!) Title: Ninja - In Training Level 8 Experience 710/16350 Health 420/420 Mana 210/210 Willpower 177/177 STR 41 SPD 26 (+2) VIT 25 INT 29 WIS 12(-80%) CHA 17(+9) (-90%) Stat Points: 0 Perk Points: 0 Cash: $68.57 Traits

Nerd-Geek Hybrid: Your obsession with video gaming, computers, fantasy/sci-fi literature and 80’s/90’s pop culture has left you in the rare middle of two circles; the obsessive fandom-loving geek and the intelligent, knowledge seeking nerd. Sadly, your hobbies have left you with an aversion to physical exertion. (50% bonus to INT gains, -50% penalty to STR, SPD & VIT gains.)

Ambiguous Disorder: Ever since you were a little kid, you’ve always been a little bit off. Impulsive, obsessive, socially obtuse and emotionally needy, you’re a bit of a weirdo. It was easily written off as normal behavior when you were younger but now you’re fifteen. Yet, you still come off as someone over five years younger. Maybe Mom should have had you tested like Dad said? (-80% reduction to overall WIS, 90% reduction to overall CHA.)

Casanova Bloodline: As a Veder man, you have a great smile, natural charm and a confident approach to life that draws the ladies in like a moth to a flame. Your great cheekbones don’t hurt either. It’s how your dad got your mom to go out with him while dating at least three other girls and sleeping with two others, at least that’s what he always told you - even when you didn’t ask - all the time. (+9 CHA)

Perks

Baby Steps (1/3) [Ranked Skill]

With Catlike Tread...

Allows very light movement across surfaces, allowing you to move or stand on surfaces that would normally not support your weight.

Lifegiver (3/10) [Ranked Ability]

Health is more than just not getting sick.

Every time you gain a level, you gain an additional 5 HP for each rank of this perk.

Danger Sense (1/10) [Ranked Skill]

My common sense is tingling.

You gain a sixth sense that allows you to sense the presence of incoming danger.

Not Quite Dead

People die when they are killed… usually.

Survive after your HP sinks below 0 and a harmful status effect is active.

10% Chance to recover with full health when HP drops to 0.

Skills

Gamer's Body (Passive) Lv. MAX

Allows you to live life as if were a game.

Sleeping restores HP, MP, Will and removes most negative status effects.

Gamer's Mind (Passive) Lv. MAX

Grants immunity to mental status effects, emotional and mental trauma and severely dangerous emotional states.

Basic Aerokinesis Lv 4

"Winds, guard me!"

Exert the force of your air control over a range of 15 meters. (100 mph)

Cost: 12 mp per second of sustained use

Dash Straight Lv 4 (XP: 15%)

Force equals Mass times Acceleration.

You may suck at physics, but you know that much.

By combining Power Sprint with Angry Straight, you smash your fist into a target while moving at high speed. Damage scales based on distance Power Sprinted. (1.25x Damage Cap)

Cost: 7 Will + 2 Will for every meter power sprinted

Mana Glitter Lv 4 (XP: 65%)

Sparkle like the pretty bishounen you were always meant to be. Or a princess. Or a pedophilic slightly-rapey vampire. Who's judging you?

Release particles of mana from your body in the form of iridescent sapphire sparkles. Max Range increases by 25% with each level. (2.5 meters)

Observe Lv 4 (XP: 5%)

A skill to find out basic information relating to the chosen object.

Cost: 1 MP

Raging Combo Lv 2 (XP: 55%)

A blistering barrage of belligerent blows built to batter baddies.

By repeatedly using weaker forms of Angry Straight, you pummel your target with raw frustration and anger. (6 Hits)

Damage: 60

Cost: 10 Will

Reinforcement (Novice) Lv 18 (XP: 55%)

A discount version of the Kaio-Ken for the squishy wizard.

Increase your effective strength, speed and health by 2% per level with this technique.

Does not increase actual points of vitality or willpower.

Cost: 2 Will per second

Warning: Overuse will lead to HP damage.

Surface Adhesion Lv 9 (XP: 15%)

You ever wanted to be Spider-Man? Don't lie. Of course you did.

This skill allows you to stick to walls and hang on to ceilings and vertical surfaces without a risk of falling. While not denying gravity, this allows you to adhere to surfaces unaided.

Cost: 2 MP per second

Structural Analysis Lv 5 (XP: 35%)

Judging the concept of creation, Hypothesizing the basic structure...

Grants the ability to gain a rudimentary understanding of the internal structure and functional design of simple, non-living objects.

Cost: 2 mp per square half-meter of object.

Weapon Charge Lv 5 (XP: 15%)

Boosts weapon damage x 2 for 5 seconds.

Length of charge increases by 1/2 second for every level. (2.5 sec)

Cost: 8 MP

Abilities

Acrobatics Lv 13 (XP: 25%)

Parkour!

An ability that enables you to pull off backflips, frontflips and any manner of jumping-based ground-movement technique with greater ease.

Awareness: Mana Lv 6 (XP: 35%)

Mana, magic energy, magicka, prana, ether, thaum, spiritual energy, magatsuhi or even chakra… Call it what you want. It's all the same in the end.

You have gained awareness of Mana, the spiritual energy found within the human mind and soul. Gaining awareness of your magical energy has given you some semblance of control over it.

Awareness: Willpower Lv 5 (XP: 25%)

Willpower, ki, chi, qi, stamina, aura, mantra, physical energy, life energy, od, or even hamon… Call it what you want. It's all the same in the end.

You have gained awareness of your Willpower, the physical energy found within all living organisms. Gaining awareness of your physical energy has given you some semblance of control over it.

Basic Anatomy Lvl 5 (XP: 85%)

Anatomy is to physiology as geography is to history.

Gain a basic understanding of the human body.

Increases [Critical Hit] damage by 10%.

Beginner Combat Lvl 4 (XP: 5%)

I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.

The next level of combat, Beginner Combat is a fusion of fighting and footwork into the ability to learn new styles of combat, fusing them into a novice martial combat capability.

Breath-Holding Lv 6

Asphyxiation is a terrible way to die.

Increases time able to stay conscious without air by 30 seconds per level.

Bullshitting Lv 5 (XP: 75%)

First, you tell a lie; then you believe it; then you become it.

Increases chances that any lie you tell is successful by 2% with every level.

Disarm Lv 3 (XP: 25%)

Take their weapon from their warm, living hands.

Increases chance of disarming the enemy by 2% with every level.

Kissing Lv 5 (XP: 75%)

Looks like practicing on a peach actually paid off.

Language: Japanese Lv 7 (5%)

Gratuitous Japanese indeed.

Reflects your speaking skill, and understanding of, the Japanese language.

Meditation Lvl 9 (XP: 60%)

Breathe in the good shit. Breathe out the bullshit.

By finding your inner focus, you push out all earthly distractions and enter a state of mental and physical harmony, allowing a greater understanding of your mind and body. While meditating, your Mana and Will recover at a rate of 10% faster per level into this ability. You retain this bonus for a period of ten minutes post-Meditation. (40%)

Parry Lv 4 (XP: 60%)

To deflect an attack is a double-edged sword;

Risking more damage for the chance to inflict the same.

Increases the effectiveness of any attempt to divert or deflect a physical attack by 2% with every level.

Reflexes Lv 8 (XP: 50%)

DODGE!

Increases your innate reaction speed by 10% per level.

Resistance: Blunt Force Lv. 29 (XP: 65%)

Going from punching yourself in the face to actual self-mutilation?

Bold move, Veder. Let's see if it pays off.

Reduce all blunt force damage by 0.75% with every level from attacks less than 100% of your health.

Resistance: Cold Lv 6 (XP: 80%)

The cold never stopped bothering you.

Increases resistance to cold temperature by 1% with every level.

Resistance: Electricity Lv 8 (XP: 25%)

Everyone knows electrocution is harmless.

Increases resistance to electrical damage by 1% with every level from attacks less than 100% of your health. (8%)

Resistance: Heat Lv 5 (XP: 35%)

"You have to respect anything that can just stand there, on fire."

Increases resistance to heat damage by 1% with every level from attacks less than 100% of your health. (5%)

Resistance: Piercing Lv 8 (XP: 50%)

The thrust or stab is risky because it can kill and yet not stop.

Reduces piercing or stabbing damage by 0.75% with every level from attacks less than 100% of your health.

Resistance: Slashing Lv 6 (XP: 90%)

The cut will stop but not kill.

Reduces slashing or cutting damage by 0.75% with every level from attacks less than 100% of your health.

Seduction Lv 1

I didn't mean to turn you on… or did I?

Manage to draw the attention of a member of the opposite sex using your innate attraction skills. Increases chance of [Critical Hits] on enemies by .5% every level.

Sneaking Lv 11 (XP: 20%)

Ugh… stealth missions suck.

Allows for quieter movement while trying not to be heard.

Stamina Lvl 8 (XP: 15%)

Whatever I lack in talent I have in stamina.

Increase Will by + 5 with every level.

Taunt Lv 6 (XP: 10%)

"And this! Is when I taunt you!"

Draw the attention of a target through nonsensical, idiotic, but occasionally piercing, verbal attacks. Increases chance of Critical Hits on enemies by 2% with every level.

Thrown Weapons Lv 4 (XP: 75%)

Throwing your sword always works. Except, you know, when it doesn't.

Increases the skill, range and force by which items and weapons can be thrown by 2% with every level.