“Ha! So the trash stays trash, abandoned by even the goddess herself.”

Damn you Patrick! Of course you would be paying attention, looking for the perfect opportunity to gloat and grind me into the ground. Still, the skill did fit me perfectly. I wouldn’t have to have a translator for books, and all languages included dead languages as well, giving me access to old documents. As much as I wanted to contribute to the fight against the dimensional invaders, maybe it was for the best that I take a backline approach.

“It’s fine, Matt. This place probably has an amazing library, right?”

Miss Walton tried to cheer me up, but it still didn’t help. No matter how I spun it, a noncombat skill wasn’t at all what they were looking for in summoning us here.

“Fine, let’s just carry on.”

Sam and Emmy gave me sympathetic looks, but didn’t say anything. Having known each other for as long as we have, that was enough. They weren’t going to leave me behind just because I wouldn’t be a fighter. I'm lucky they value bonds more than benefits.

After everything died down, we exited the summoning room and stepped into a grand cathedral. Various priests and nuns scurried about their business, and those who walked closer to us gave a quick bow towards Archbishop Amon. The archbishop should be the person with the highest authority in the church, and the way these guys were acting showed that.

“Clegirus has always consisted of the ten main races. Each race stays mainly within their own country, but from time to time they will visit the others to gain some experience. We are currently in the human country, Irinium. There are also the Elf, Dark Elf, Demon, Devil, Fey, Giant, Dwarf, Dragon, and Beastkin countries, but we can talk about that later. For now, follow me to the castle. We're going to meet your instructor.”

We stepped out onto the street to find ourselves in a bustling town. There were two hills at either end of the town, with the cathedral at the peak of one and a castle on the other peak. We walked through the main street that stretched between the two, going past an open-air marketplace, a residential area, and several other areas before arriving at the castle gates.

“These the summons?”

A tired looking guard yawned and scanned over the group. Unlike in the church, he didn’t seem to hold any reverence towards the archbishop.

“Well, welcome to Irinium, have a nice stay, etc., etc.”

He waved us through seeming as though he didn’t have a care in the world. I was at the end of the line, so I saw him pull his hat over his eyes and mutter, “Good night.”

“Wasn’t that guy a little too lazy?”

I was muttering to myself, but I never expected an unfamiliar voice to answer back.

“Don’t worry about it, Panda Eyes is always like that.”

I gave a start and looked around. There was nobody even looking my way, and I knew it couldn’t have been a classmate. Even as a falsetto, nobody could speak in such a high pitch.

“You’re never gonna find me up there, Drippy Nose.”

The voice comes from right in front of me. I look down, and in front of me is ... a squirrel.

“Was that you?”

The squirrel scratched its ear before saying, “You see any other talking squirrels, buddy? Listen, I can’t stay for long, but my master said to tell you not to trust anyone.”

“Who’s your master?”

“You’ve met him, even though you don’t remember. Just be careful, especially with the people you came with.”

“Wait, I can’t even trust Sam and Emmy?”

“Those two are fine, but not yet. I can let you know when you can talk to them. For now, though, keep your guard up. And don’t let anyone know that you saw me, ok?”

After giving that cryptic message, space seemed to fold around the squirrel, and with a pop he disappeared.

“Dude, you dying over there? How long have you had that cough?”

Puzzled, I turn to Sam. “What cough?”

“You almost hacked a lung out. If I didn’t know you, I would say that you were an 80-year old man who started smoking before he was born!”

I suddenly realized my throat was sore. I hadn’t been doing anything but talking to... it suddenly dawned on me. I wasn’t speaking in a human language, but the language of whatever that squirrel was. His words rang in my head, “Don’t trust anyone.”

“Sorry, just had a slight tickle in my windpipe. I'm fine now.”

“Slight tickle?”

“Ugh, fine. I think I might’ve inhaled a bucket of sawdust. Happy?”

As much as I wanted to disregard the weird squirrel, my gut was saying to wait and see. Sooner or later, all lies are exposed. I didn’t know the rules here, and while stupidity was excusable, ignorance could get me killed.

“You two in the back, keep up! We don’t have time to wait for stragglers!”

The archbishop’s voice floated back from further down the path, where the rest of the class was. Sam and I rushed and rejoined the group, following along at the tail end. Seeing how I could talk to the squirrel, I focused on one of the birds nearby. From its chirps, I got a vague feeling that it was telling everything to stay away from its nest, but there were no words discernable. This cemented my suspicion that the squirrel was something else in disguise, and not an animal. The bird didn’t have a language, but more like a system of codes that it used to communicate with the world. Since there were no translatable words, Linguist interpreted it in the easiest possible way for me to understand.

Before I realized it, we were standing in front of a building in the courtyard of the castle. The walls were white marble, and sounds of metal clashing with metal rang out from inside.

“This is the training hall. You will train under Howal, the best instructor available. With your skills, you should have a problem learning... except for, Matthew Dusk? You and Elizabeth Walton don’t have to train as you don’t have combat specific skills. I'll have Fernandela give you a tour and get you settled.”

I was a bit surprised that Miss Walton didn’t have a combat skill. I thought I was the only one, but at least I wasn’t alone.

“Please follow me, heroes. Is there anywhere you would like to go first?”

“The library. Do you have a library?”

“We have the most extensive library in all of Irinium. I can take you there after I show you your rooms.”

We followed her to the main building in the castle, and found the rooms that had been set aside for us. The hallways were lit with glowing stones inlaid in the walls, and the walls looking like they had been carved from a single piece of stone. There were down mattresses and warm blankets on the beds, which looked like they were of the finest quality. I confirmed my bed, and followed Fernandela to what I looked forward to the most, the library.

“Now this feels like home. Paper and ink, each containing their own separate worlds, ready to be explored with just a touch... it’s absolute bliss.”

Miss Walton’s face spasmed several times during my soliloquy, until the laughter forced its way out of her mouth. I ignored that and reached for the closest book. I didn’t recognize the characters, but understood them anyways. Twins of Darkness and Light, Macual and Liden.

“I’ll leave the two of you here. When the others finish their training for the morning, I'll come back and guide you to the meal hall.”

“Sounds good.”

Miss Walton waved her off, still convulsing with small giggles.

“What skill did you get? I know it’s non-combat, but other than that I have no idea.”

“It’s called Symbiotic Link. I choose a person to link with, and I can share my mana and enhance the skills they use.”

Shit. I thought it would be a lifestyle skill like mine, but a freaking support skill? At least it has some relevance to combat, unlike mine. Ah, oh well. I have books to read, and a second not reading them is a second wasted.

“Lord Macual, I have delivered the message as you asked.”

A squat man covered in warts knelt before a throne covered in green flame.

“Good. May I say you make an excellent squirrel, Sorrow?”

“Please don’t make me take that form again, Lord. It always nauseates me after I return to my normal state.”

“Well, it was quite an entertaining show. Would you like to make a wager?”

“What’s the terms?”

“I believe he will have seven stacks of Death’s Touch before he returns. What say you?”

“Seven? You think he’ll only last for a week? I say he’ll have fourteen stacks.”

“Very well, the usual stakes then, and we’ll consider it done.”

“Deal.”

Macual then turned his attention to a mirror in front of him.

“How well will you do, I wonder?”