-HUTCH-

I couldn’t believe it. I was Level One. Finally.

The illuminated words began to shift, and transformed into a new phrase.

CHOOSE TWO IN THE SEQUENCE TO ENHANCE

A mist filled the space in front of me, becoming its own display of sorts. Rather than letters overlaying, words began to appear in the shroud through negative space, where mist did not cover. It looked as though someone had clipped those sections out in the fog, and I could see the backs of the others through the letters themselves.

POWER

DEXTERITY

SPIRIT

BEARING

Well, that’s vague.

I hadn’t received instruction in this aspect. As I’d moved through the world, my Adventure Class had become something of a kind of background noise, only truly mattering when I would face a Giant with Father. It reminded me of having to chop down the diseased elm from back in our home in the Berrywood. I’d spent days, feverishly hacking at the trunk to bring it down, so that the sickness wouldn’t spread to the other trees. It was a frustrating tedium, wearing myself thin out there each morning to evening, chopping, and slowly revealing the different rings. Each layer was its own challenge, but was also a sign of progress while I worked. Each was tough, and needed to be hacked through fully, until finally the tree had been wrested.

I had the feeling that by the end of all of this, I would be in a similar state as the ax: dull, chipped and in need of repair.

I looked at the words displayed before me.

What to choose?

Without a standard, or baseline for my knowledge, I wasn’t sure which direction I should pursue. I would just have to rely on my instinct. Power seemed obvious. If I wanted to continue being able to go toe-to-toe with the Giants, I’d need a might that could match. The other three… sequences, they were called, I wasn’t as confident. Dexterity would likely have something to do with my speed, or perhaps my fine motor skills? Spirit and bearing were mystifying terms. Perhaps I would attempt to learn more detail from someone more accomplished?

I supposed that would be my decision. For now, the two more understandable variables would have to do.

“Power and Dexterity,” I said.

Suddenly, that same ring of light from before enveloped me. In seconds I felt something change inside of me. It was transformative, my muscles felt as though they were tingling, and my body felt lighter. I raised my hand, moving my fingers. Somehow, I felt as though my connection to them was stronger, as though my muscle memory for their movement was more pronounced.

I remembered, long ago it seemed, the harvest festival in Vuss. I was in my eighth or ninth autumn, and Father, Mother, Petra, and I had gone for a night. Mother had been with child, carrying Grenn, and it had caused us to take longer than typically because every bump in the road was amplified for her. We’d slowed Karl to a crawl, and we’d missed the opening ceremony, the tumbling troupe, but had arrived just in time for the musician. A bard of little note or renown, but talented nonetheless.

I remember being captivated by his deft movements. The way he had seamlessly slid his fingers along the neck of the lute, forming the positions with his fingers for each chord had fascinated me so much that my mutton shank had gotten cold. I had thought that surely he must have been some infinitely aged magician who’d spent countless eons perfecting his craft.

As I wiggled each finger, I felt, perhaps foolishly, that I was closer in my dexterity now to what that bard had been able to achieve. A fantasy filled my mind of buying a lute and giving it a go. But, if that were going to happen, it would have to be after this.

As the marquee faded, I looked at the other Appointed in the chamber. They’d already begun to walk toward the looming door in the back of the corridor. No one had seen what had just happened.

I lifted Waldo’s Talisman again, activating it with the Nightsign words, and the display again jumped out at me.

HUTCH CARTHAGE

ADVENTURE CLASS: GIANT EATER

LEVEL: 1

--

POWER: 30

DEXTERITY: 30

SPIRIT: 20

BEARING: 20

--

HEALTH: 100 / 100

MANA: 100 / 100

STAMINA: 100 / 100

--

SPECIAL ABILITIES:

DEVOUR [ LVL. 1 ]

Whatever I’d done had only improved my Power and my Dexterity, the other stats hadn’t been affected. I wondered idly if my Health, Mana, or Stamina could be modified with one of the previous four sequences.

My Special Ability hadn’t been changed, either. I slid the dial of the magical information panel, to the display showcasing my Devour ability. No change. However, at the bottom was a single word that I hadn’t noticed before.

CLARIFY

“Clarify,” I said.

The information shifted, bringing up a closer view of my Devour ability. It showed greater detail than before on each section.

DEVOUR [ LVL. 1 ]

DEVOUR STRENGTH [ LVL. 1 ] ■■■□□□□□□□ (30%) TO LVL. 2 DEVOUR REND [ LVL. 1 ] □□□□□□□□□□ (0%) TO LVL. 2 DEVOUR HEAL [ LVL. 1 ] □□□□□□□□□□ (0%) TO LVL. 2

Based on the fact that I had only ever used Devour Strength, whether or not I knew it, I quickly deduced that the frequency of practice would likely be the reason it was more exercised than the others. I would need to make sure that I utilized the other two abilities in the future, now that I knew how.

On a whim, I cycled the wheel again, and found a new area.

SKILLS

Then below, a disappointing message.

NO SKILLS ACQUIRED

That will need to change.

I didn’t know what exactly comprised a Skill, but that would be something I would make sure to remember to ask… someone.

I dismissed the information, and slid Waldo’s Talisman back into my shirt. The group had all settled in a crescent shape, staring at the massive door with the glittering gem. I felt the lump of the Talisman beneath my shirt, and moved forward to join them.

“Well, this is indeed an intriguing new development,” said the large man in the stone armor. He had a shaggy tuft of spiky brown hair, that parted in the middle. His voice was pinched sounding, and higher than I’d have expected to hear from a man of his size, but he spoke with the accent and bearing of a noble. The man pointed to the door, and drew a triangular shape in the empty air with his index finger.

“I could most likely blast through this, but I am not sure if that is the most befitting measure in this particular circumstance.”

“What’s going on?” I asked, moving a little quicker in pace to reach the others.

“It won’t open,” said Freya, her smile again the only thing visible having slid her hood back up.

“Is there a handle, or anything?” offered the older man with the bracelets.

“There does not appear to be,” Helene said, glaring. However, her anger did not seem to be directed at the door, but at her brother. Gaius had taken up a relaxed position against the far wall, his arms crossed and his eyes closed. If I didn’t know any better, I might have suggested that he was pouting. In any case, he wasn’t helping.

Nobles.

“Is this the machination of the Second Trial?” the large man asked, tutting.

“I am not sure,” Helene responded, looking away from her brother and stepping forward. She slowly ran her hands over the surface of the door, then pressed her fingertips against the center. It seemed like she was trying to find a seam. After a moment, she stepped back with a sigh.

“The Second Trail was created to be one of wits. After the Trial of Strength. It is possible that this is part of it.”

“Yes,” said the big man, “as I said, machination. Is this a puzzle to be discerned? If so, must we devise a scheme together? And if it is not, is our true test on the other side?”

At that moment, a bodiless voice rang out.

“Welcome, those Appointed, to the Second Trial.”

“I suppose that answers that question,” Freya muttered.