When Jack woke up, the now-familiar snap within his soul heralded the receipt of his newest Skill. He waited, not bothering to open his eyes, though his hearing informed him that only two other people occupied the room, one being a sleeping Raina by the sound of her breathing and the other Alindal who he recognized thanks to the World Core Link. It seemed Cordan hadn’t returned yet. Just then, a voice interrupted his musings; however, it wasn’t the familiar echo of his voice that spoke but a colder, more mature version of Blue’s voice.

“As the Fool brushes against divine mystery, necessity teaches him to sense the potential in his surroundings and draw greater power from the bonds that give him strength. In doing so, he learns to glimpse the truth.”

A practical fountain of excitement bubbled up from the Blue Heart as the words played through his thoughts. It was strange to return to such a primitive form of communication after speaking with Blue but he smiled at her enthusiasm nonetheless. The notification popped into his mind.

[Your Status has been updated.]

1 New Skill added from The Fool…

1 New Trait added from The Fool…

[Open Status?]

Before opening his Status, he noted that, once again, his designation had granted a Skill and a Trait: the only exception being the Soul Cradle which was essentially two abilities in one. In truth, the trend was strange since designations, typically, only granted Traits as rewards for designation-based objectives. Does the added power come from the fact that it only gains Skills from certain events?

The questions illuminated an important mystery about his designation. He had barely considered what qualified as a triggering event for the Fool to grant a Skill. According to the designation description, he gained Skills from “bonds formed” and “experiences endured” yet he had very little notion of the exact criteria involved. His examples were awful for scaling as well. Alindal was his closest friend who remained at his side despite the adversity they regularly faced. The Earth Mother was a literal goddess that saved him from a horrible fate. Drake, although not necessarily an ally at the moment, was someone he’d known for who knew how many lifetimes. And lastly, the Blue Heart had been bonded to his body and soul since his arrival in Fracture.

Now that I think about it, Jack thought. Soul Cradle could have also come from surviving Illumination which was, without a doubt, the worst experience I’ve ever endured. Same with Awaken and the chant Drake used to activate my Gnosis remnant. While the remnant wouldn’t count since the Logos likely views it as a part of me, having Drake awaken it might’ve counted as an experience worthy of gaining a Skill. Hm… either way, all of my examples for getting Skills so far have been extremes. Do they all have to be like this or is there an easier way? If it’s the former, that would explain the strength of the designations abilities but I should do some testing when I get the chance.

A spike of impatience disrupted his thoughts, courtesy of the Blue Heart. He almost chuckled at her child-like giddiness. He wasn’t really in a rush but saw no point in keeping her waiting.

“My bad, Blue,” he said to the World Core. Finally, he pulled up his Status.

Name: Jack

Designation: The Fool (C-10)

Available Eidos: 23,670

Ethos: 1040/1040 (4/min.)

Mana: 1060/1060 (10.8/min.)

Vigor: 1520/1520 (7.2/min.)

[Attributes]

Might

43 (48)

Stamina

74 (104)

Dexterity

29 (36)

Agility

32

Intellect

70

Willpower

36 (72)

Focus

32 (36)

Resonance

-

[Abilities]

View Skills?

View Traits?

View Relic Skills?

What the hells? Jack’s eyes flew open, blinking in surprise. Starting from his Ethos and working his way down, he compared the numbers with his memory of them. His heart had sped up a few beats as scanned over his Attributes. They all increased?

He quickly navigated to his Trait and Skill menus to find out where the increase was coming from, certain it must be from the newest additions. He glanced at the Trait first.

Bonds of Necessity

Advantages

-Any Attribute bonuses the Fool receives from bonds, links, or covenants are increased by 25%.

-The Fool can sense the threads of fate between himself and other creatures.

Holy shit. He let out a low whistle and sat up, unable to remain lying down upon reading the Trait’s advantages. The Blue Heart radiate a surge of smug satisfaction so clear that he could practically picture the face she would make. He chuckled softly as an excited smile split across his face.

“I take it you had a good nap?” Alindal said drawing Jack’s gaze to where he stood by the window. The star elf had been stargazing again, a habit of his whenever he had time on his hands.

“Yeah, feeling pretty good and I got some new goodies from my designation too,” he said.

Alindal offered a warm smile. “I, too, have attained greater strength, specifically two new spell shapes, and another element.”

Jack nodded. Alindal would’ve attained two new Skills at level five of D-rank and C-rank. As for his friend’s rank-up Skill unlock, he had a good idea which Skill Alindal chose to upgrade rather than gaining a new ability.

“Alright, give me a few minutes to go over everything and we’ll talk,” he said. His friend nodded and turned his gaze back to the stars. Jack refocused on his Status.

A closer look at his Attributes confirmed two things. Firstly, all of his attributes had increased by four except for his Dexterity and Focus which had increased by five. Considering the Blue Heart has given a sixteen-point bonus to my Attributes so far, it’s simple to see why most of them have gone up by four. As for Dexterity and Focus, I was getting a ten percent boost to those from Blessing of the Seamstress… Yeah, looks like the trait applies there too.

Unfortunately, his second discovery was the lack of a similar increase to his Willpower as on his Dexterity and Focus. So even though the voice talks about bonds, I don’t get the boost from Bonds of Necessity on Magician’s Intuition. I gained Magician’s Manipulation from my designation thanks to my bond with Al but maybe it’s different because Blessing of the Seamstress came from forging a World Core link. Hm, the connections probably have to be more literal to count then. Despite his mild annoyance at the realization, it didn’t spoil his mood. His eyes glittered with amusement. Guess the power of friendship only goes so far.

Although the trait required specific requirements, he wasn’t over-worried. The Bonds of Necessity would only grow in usefulness as the Blue Heart matured and he established more Links. Certain designations like Nexus could create links for various purposes which made Jack briefly lament his tenuous relationship with Cordan. As a support mage, the veteran relic hunter would make a great Link on paper but unlike Raina, he did not doubt where the man’s loyalties lay.

The other advantage of the trait drew his interest as well. He wasn’t sure what the “threads of fate” entailed exactly; however, given the theme of the Trait, he could guess. After a minute of trial and error, he figured out how to access the new sense. Strangely, it manifested tactually as a vague pull against his skin. When he focused on a pull, he felt that “thread of fate” in greater detail, mostly in the form of mental impressions. There were two separate pulls in the room at the moment: one leading to Raina and the other to Alindal.

Alindal’s thread had a gentle, unerring pull giving Jack impressions of determination and faith. In his mind, he visualized it as a thin silver thread made of soft yet unbreakable fabric. Conversely, the thread connecting him with Raina had a tenuous, weak pull; however, the thread itself didn’t anything like what he expected. Instead, his new sense imparted impressions of blood, desperation, and power. In his mind’s eye, the thread appeared as a braided red ribbon loosely tied around their bodies. The sensation surprised him so much that Jack lost his focus for a moment.

He scowled and stared at Raina’s sleeping form. As he hoped, the new sense granted a measure of his connection with Alindal confirming his suspicion that it could, maybe, be used as a tool for choosing Links in the future. The strength of the pull represented the extent of his connection with someone while the impressions lent insight into the individual in question: that was his best guess at least. That in mind, the impressions of Raina’s thread concerned him. He was already unsure what to make of the girl.

On the surface, she appeared to be an eager-to-please newcomer with naïve sensibilities and an eagerness for adventure. She had clear skill with a sword which could extend to other weapons for all Jack knew and for all his suspicion, she had readily thrown herself into danger to help him more than once. If he had to guess, she probably came from some kind of warrior society based on her martial skill. Her recklessness likely stemmed from a desire to prove herself; something she might not have gotten the opportunity to do given her physical impairment before coming to Fracture. Things only became more complicated when he looked deeper.

The description from the Fractured Eye and the feeling of her thread of fate specifically raised more questions about her background. What did the Logos mean by “traces of divine power” in her blood? Why did her thread of fate feel so… visceral? Was she some manner of demigod? It was possible. There were rumors of individuals with divine heritage in Fracture but such rumors usually centered around ridiculously powerful people: the most famous example being the top relic hunter, a man so mired in myth and hearsay that anything could be true.

Based on the analysis of the Fractured Eye, the power in her blood had adverse effects, so much so, that the Logos suppressed it. Considering the regenerative effect of Ethos on the body, the degradative effects must’ve been severe for such measures to be warranted. What conditions needed to be met to release the seal on her bloodline? He had no idea but he needed to talk to her about her involvement going forward in any case; he would ask about her background then.

Putting aside his musings, he checked his Skill menu, curious what his new ability would entail.

[Unassigned Wildcard Skills]

Soul Cradle (The Fool Skill)

…

Trance (The Fool Skill)

The user may enter a meditative state which increases the potency of one of his senses as well as the rate of his Ethos, Mana, or Vigor regeneration by a multiple dependent on his rank. While in this state, the user must remain inactive or the Trance is broken.

Regen. Multiplier: 3

Sensory Multiplier: 1.5

Cost: N/A

Duration: Sustained

[Warning: You have no free Wildcard Slots available: You must remove one of your slotted Skills before assigning any more Skills.]

Jack rubbed his chin mulling over his newest Skill. In truth, his first reaction was a disappointment. The other Skills with accompanying Traits had been incredibly powerful compared to their more situational counterparts. Bonds of Necessity, while still situational, offered a great long-term boost in strength when paired with the Blue Heart. However, a moment of contemplation revealed how narrowminded his view was.

Unlike his other abilities, Trance offered little benefits when in a fight yet it had plenty of uses. The increased rate of regeneration to his Ethos, Mana, or Vigor provided a degree of self-sufficiency to his abilities: though a good number of designations received increases to the recovery rate of their primary resource at later levels, usually, only support-specialized designations could boost Ethos regeneration. Trance allowed him to pick and choose, a valuable bit of versatility especially when paired with the boost to his Mana and Vigor regeneration from the Magician’s Intuition trait.

Additionally, the sensory augment offered a unique opportunity. His ridiculous hearing and relic sense could become even more powerful scouting tools with Trance. He had already seen their effectiveness during the assault on the temple and while evading detection in the Eternal Light’s Bastion. Ideas came readily as he began contemplating how to use Trance going forward. It’s a shame I didn’t get a Vigor-based attack Skill but this isn’t bad at all. Wonder what kind of upgrade it’ll get at B-rank…?

He spent a few minutes daydreaming about the potential upgrades to all of his Skills upon completing his rank-up objective before something occurred to him. He summoned the objective in question.

Objective: B-rank Advancement (The Fool)

Unlock Condition: Reach level 10 of C-rank with The Fool.

Assignment: Defeat an Area Boss of B-rank or higher. 0/1

Optional Assignment: Obtain at least four Wildcard Skills before advancing to B-rank. 4/4 [COMPLETED]

[All rewards will be dispensed upon completion of the primary assignment.]

Jack grunted, his expression showing his dissatisfaction. Objectives typically gave rewards for optional assignments as soon as they were completed, much like the Purification of Terras had. He had no idea what type of reward the optional assignment would grant and thus, looked forward to it. After all, designation objectives were a key part of gaining power at higher ranks based on what he knew. Considering the difficulty of his rank-up assignment, he would need every bit of strength he could get.

If he hoped to complete it sooner rather than later, he’d need to find some way to take down one of the Justiciars which hopefully counted as Area Bosses— a near-impossible task even with his increased strength. He already had a few ideas on how to accomplish the task with the Twilight King’s assistance but he would broach that issue during his audience.

On that note, he looked up at Alindal. “By the way, how long was I out?”

He turned around and said, “Only a couple of hours. There’s still some time until you’re to meet with the Twilight King.”

Jack got up and stretched. He really did feel amazing, Cords of muscle were pulled taut as he moved his body through several positions exploring the range of his new flexibility and reveling in the power beneath the surface of his movements. According to Helbiel, the Blue Heart had been changing his body throughout its maturation toward whatever goal she was designed to fulfill yet Blue claimed that her purpose was to assist him instead of the other way around. That begged the question, what kind of changes did she make to his body? He aimed the query at the Blue Heart, aware that she couldn’t give him an answer until he slept again even if she did know.

Blue’s only response was a surge of reassurance and pride. I’ll take that as a good sign.

Making a note to ask her about the specifics next time they talked, Jack gestured for Alindal to join him. “I’m done sorting my stuff out for now.”

“Wonderful,” Alindal said walking over. “So, what is the plan exactly? You only had the skeleton of one before we left for the temple.”

“Unfortunately, that’s still more or less the case. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got a clear picture of what I want but I need to work the specifics out with the Twilight King. A lot depends on how much he’s willing to cooperate.”

The star elf frowned. “Are you worried that he will be resistant?”

“I can’t be sure,” Jack said releasing a sigh of his own. “Bohum has his wife and his people. There’s a lot of hate there and I need him to think tactically. Undead or not, emotions might get in the way. I’ll find out once I have the audience. Once I do, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Alright,” Alindal said. “I must admit I’m eager to be done with this place.”

“Yeah, I know how you feel but World boss or not, we can make a difference here and become strong enough to at least put up a fight against our pursuers,” he responded locking eyes with his closest friend.

“That’s if we make it out alive, my friend.”

“Don’t worry. I know its dangerous but Helbiel didn’t send me back here empty-handed. With the Twilight King’s help, we can—.” He stopped talking when he heard Raina’s breathing shift. One gesture to Alindal alerted the elf that the other occupant of the room had woken up a moment before she spoke.

“Ow, everything hurts,” she groaned as she tried to sit up. A loose tunic hung loosely over her lean frame. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes only to wince as her hand brushed the large bruise on the side of her face. Jack guessed it would take her about a day to fully recover from the multitude of minor injuries she’d suffered.

That must’ve been some intense practice, Jack mused while he and Alindal watched Raina fight off the protests of her aching body. Ah well, might as well get this over. That way I know where we stand before I meet with the Twilight King.

He placed a hand on Alindal’s shoulder and said, “Mind giving us some privacy?”

“Good luck,” the star elf said offering a smile before he made his way toward the door.

Raina who had finally gotten her bearings looked at Alindal’s retreating form then at him. Her gaze switched between confused and curious. He walked over sitting on the edge of Cordan’s mattress opposite her.

“We need to talk,” he said, his expression serious.