Lone: The Wanderer

Book 2: Chapter 36: Skill List and Basic Hygiene

Congratulations! the host's passive skill [Curse Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 6.

Congratulations! the host's passive skill [Curse Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 7.

Congratulations! the host's passive skill [Curse Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 8.

Congratulations! the host's passive skill [Curse Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 9.

Congratulations! the host's passive skill [Curse Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 10.

Congratulations! the host's passive skill [Curse Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 1.

Congratulations! the host's passive skill [Curse Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 2.

Hamish wasn't wrong. It had only taken six two-hour-long training sessions over the course of four days for the skill to reach the maximum rank and level it could possibly attain with the enchantments on the dwarf's daggers.

Lone stretched long and hard, pausing his meditation briefly. He, Soph, Breena, and Hamish, were camping out for the night once again after a long day of walking through the Farwinds.

He was still trying to get a skill to help him with his nightmares. Doubly so now since sleep was scarce while they travelled, what with at least one of them needing to be on watch constantly.

Lone was all too happy to fill that role in place of his comrades. It gave him a reason not to sleep and it also allowed him to keep trying new things to earn a meditation skill.

Just sitting cross-legged and trying to clear his mind didn't work so he was currently trying out some new poses to relax while he reviewed his training progress.

On the other side of camp, both Soph and Breena were sparring with Hamish. Breena with her needles and Soph with her barriers. Of course, neither came even close to injuring the man.

Lone cracked his neck and interrupted his notification log to check up on Curse Resistance's new information since it had ranked up.

Passive Skill: Curse Resistance

A skill that allows the host to resist weak and [New!] mild curses.

Weak and [New!] mildcurses applied to the host shall have their effects reduced by 15% [+10%].

Cost:N/A Mastery:Intermediate Level 2

'Mild, huh? Is that what the dwarf's burning curse is? A low-power mild one?' Lone wondered.

It was certainly a lot easier to ignore now that the skill had ranked up, that was for sure. He was just disappointed that the enchantment was so weak. 'Seems like a useful skill to have a lot of levels in, Curse Resistance. A lot of weird monsters out there specialise in curses. If only the enchantment were more powerful... Then again, were it stronger maybe Breena wouldn't have asked to train with it too.'

That was a surprise, for sure. He had expected Sophie to request such treatment from the dwarf and sure enough, she had indeed done so.

Only that aspect of her training ended swiftly when she realised the curse interfered with her Mana Sensing since the pain was so crisp and searing. It also apparently focused too much on the mind, rendered her crippled in the magical sense.

Breena on the other hand was a bloody soldier, Lone felt. She hardly winced at the pain of being cut and cursed. The burning only slowed her down by a fraction of her usual speed. Not that that really mattered when it came to Hamish since he was vastly stronger than her anyway. Still, it was worthy of praise.

Lone resumed looking through his notification log, taking in the new information regarding his own personal growth.

Congratulations! the host's passive skill [Evasion Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 3.

Congratulations! the host's active skill [Weapon Block] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 9.

Much to Lone's chagrin, Swordspear Mastery hadn't crossed through the advanced barrier and become an expert ranked skill quite yet. He suspected he'd have to actually fight seriously for that to happen.

Sadly, that wasn't possible. 'Not without my Creation Magic at least. I can't heal without it and Hamish, while strong and fast, is not made of steel. I really could use a normal healing skill. Hmm... do any even exist that don't rely on MP?'

He didn't know. Information regarding skills and how the system in general worked was sorely lacking in both Milindo and Krieg Moor.

He'd learned a vast amount of general information regarding the continent, surrounding kingdoms, empires, and monsters too. Skills though? Damn-near everything he knew was self-taught through his own studies and tests.

'Hell, even the guild is kinda useless in this regard, really. They have a list of skills and reqs for them but you can't access it until you're a silver plate. Even then they only tell you about specific skills that apply to what you want to learn and you need a permit to get the info per skill. I mean, it makes sense since that's the bar between a random adventurer and a trusted adventurer fully sanctioned by the guild itself but damn is it annoying...' Lone thought as he broke his pose and scratched his head.

"Dwarf!" He yelled across the camp, getting Hamish's attention, "What plate rank are you?"

"Silver. Why?" Hamish responded as he off-handedly deflected one of Breena's throwing needles before he roundhouse-kicked an incoming jade-coloured barrier into smithereens.

"Don't know any useful skills, do you? Like something to calm the mind, as an example," Lone asked.

Hamish looked a bit puzzled for a moment before a look of realisation washed over his face. "Ahhh, nah, ah dinnae. Couldnae tell ya if ah did anyway. It's against the rules tae share info aboot the guild's skill list."

Lone raised an eyebrow. "And assaulting and kidnapping other members isn't?"

The dwarf shrugged while he danced around Soph's incoming barriers, choosing to pluck Breena's needles right out of the air and her hands as they approached him. "Different levels ah severity. The latter is handled locally, the former is treated a wee bit more seriously since it's ah serious breach o' trust. Just so ya ken, ah would likely tell ya if ah knew any skills 'at could 'elp ya were it nae fae the guild's restrictions. Ah'm kinda boond by mere than one contract though, Fox."

"Fair enough. it was worth an ask though," Lone replied. "By the way, there isn't some method to see all of your skills in one list like with your status, is there? Thinking 'skill list' does nothing."

Hamish chuckled. "Feck me ye'r an ignorant sod. Those who summoned ye didnae gae ye the rundown?"

'Those shitty inconsiderate gods?' Lone smiled a little. "Sadly, no, they didn't."

Hamish tapped the side of his head and said, "Think ah some categories then mentally say 'skill list'. It's ah two-step process. Simple enuff, aye? Ya dinnae even need tae include all skills in the categories."

"Really? That's it? Fuck. Well that's helpful," Lone exclaimed.

"'Ow many skills ya even got, Fox?" Hamish asked, barely dodging an incoming sword. "Feck ye'r one 'ell of ah distraction. That martial arts yer usin', lass? The flow's 'ard tae follow. Ah guess ya got sick ah watchin' the other one toss 'er barriers around all willy-nilly, eh?"

Sophie lowered her stance and grunted. "MP was running low."

Lone grinned upon seeing Sophie almost get one over on the dwarf. It'd be a real pain in the ass if she actually hurt him but keeping the man on his toes was a joy to witness. "I don't know. Quite a few. I'll tell you when I'm done checking."

Hamish just shrugged again and refocused all of his efforts on the two girls attacking him.

'So categories then skill list? Hmm... Well... Passive and active? Skill list?' Lone thought in an unsure manner just to test the waters.

It worked but he was disgusted by the disorder that he saw. 'I need to mess with this and see what the limits are... This could be fun...'

Thirty minutes later he had a list that he was happy to look at.

Skill List

Weapon Mastery Skills Swordspear MasteryAdvanced Level 10 Unarmed Combat MasteryAdvanced Level 7 Polearm MasteryIntermediate Level 10 Hand Axe MasteryBeginner Level 1 Dual-wielding MasteryBeginner Level 1 Hatchet MasteryBeginner Level 1 Shortbow MasteryBeginner Level 1 Shortspear MasteryBeginner Level 1 Shortsword MasteryBeginner Level 1 Sword MasteryBeginner Level 1 Movement Skills Evasion MasteryExpert Level 3 Light-footedBeginner Level 6 Social Skills ActingAdvanced Level 2 PersuasionIntermediate Level 8 Crafting Skills BlacksmithingAdvanced Level 10 Steamforged Tool MasteryAdvanced Level 10 WoodworkingAdvanced Level 5 MasonryAdvanced Level 1 SteamforgingIntermediate Level 8 LoggingIntermediate Level 8 Architecture MasteryBeginner Level 1 ShipbuildingBeginner Level 1 Misc Skills Reading MasteryAdvanced Level 4 Cooking MasteryIntermediate Level 5 Sex MasteryIntermediate Level 5 CartographyIntermediate Level 4 Swimming MasteryIntermediate Level 3 Laundry MasteryBeginner Level 8 Pet MasteryBeginner Level 6 Teaching MasteryBeginner Level 5 Fishing MasteryBeginner Level 4 Massage MasteryBeginner Level 4 Historical and Cultural AppreciationBeginner Level 2 Illusion DetectionBeginner Level 2 Sailing MasteryBeginner Level 2 Chess MasteryBeginner Level 1 Resistance Skills Mental Pain ResistanceExpert Level 3 Physical Pain ResistanceExpert Level 3 Darkness Corruption ResistanceExpert Level 1 Aura Pressure ResistanceIntermediate Level 4 Lightning Magic ResistanceIntermediate Level 3 Curse ResistanceIntermediate Level 2 Air Magic ResistanceIntermediate Level 1 Earth Magic ResistanceIntermediate Level 1 Fire Magic ResistanceIntermediate Level 1 Water Magic ResistanceIntermediate Level 1 Fear ResistanceBeginner Level 9 Acid ResistanceBeginner Level 8 Corrosion ResistanceBeginner Level 8 Panic ResistanceBeginner Level 8 Nausea ResistanceBeginner Level 7 Cold ResistanceBeginner level 1 Active Skills

Weapon BlockIntermediate Level 9 Magic Skills

Root of LifeIntermediate Level 8 Lightning BoltIntermediate Level 6 Illusionary DomeIntermediate Level 3 FireballIntermediate Level 1 WaterballBeginner Level 8 Wind BladeBeginner Level 2 Amplified CurrentBeginner Level 1 BoulderBeginner Level 1 Racial Skills Tail Spear

Beginner Level 4 World Skills

Full Body DiagnosticsBeginner Level 2 Primal Skills UngroundedBeginner Level 4 Nothing VortexBeginner Level 1 Unique Skills

Basic RegenerationExpert Level 7 Bone ArmourExpert Level 5 Dimensional StorageN/A Creation MagicN/A Growth AcceleratorN/A Mental DestructionN/A The Summoning RoomN/A True Contract MagicN/A Fuck That Cuntbag Sir Ardus Skills Poison ResistanceExpert Level 9 Torture ResistanceAdvanced Level 4 Thirst ResistanceIntermediate Level 5 Insanity ResistanceBeginner Level 9 Hunger ResistanceBeginner Level 8

'78 skills all arranged in fitting categories by highest rank first then alphabetically for ones in the same category and at the same rank. Man, that's a satisfying list to look at,' Lone thought with pride, particularly at his last-minute addition of the final section of skills.

'I have basically no fuckin' active skills, like, holy shit. With Creation Magic sealing my magic skills, all I have is Weapon Block, Tail Spears, and Ungrounded, the latter of which is incredibly expensive SP-wise,' Lone noted.

Of course, he also had Swordspear Mastery's Pierce and Evasion Mastery's Momentum Shift but still.... he had no idea how passive-heavy he really was until now.

"I mean, it works since a bunch of them are combat-focused," he muttered.

He then poured over the list for a good while longer, long enough for Sophie to stop him to demand he served them dinner. He happily obliged then returned to his musings.

'While we're travelling to Urd Grun I shouldn't just be training Evasion Mastery, Light-footed and Weapon Block. I think I can also comfortably squeeze in Full Body Diagnostics, Ungrounded, Tail Spears, Unarmed Combat Mastery, Aura pressure Resistance, maybe Fear Resistance and Nausea Resistance too,' he thought with a smile. 'I could even work something out for Basic Regen and Bone Armour maybe, though that's risky.'

"Dwarf," Lone called, interrupting the man from his beans and toast.

"Aye? What's up, Fox?" Hamish responded.

"You asked how many skills I had, right? I've got 78," Lone answered a little bit proudly.

Sophie rolled her eyes at that. Both Breena and Hamish had vastly different reactions though. Breena just stared at her plate of food a bit sadly, as if disappointed with herself.

Hamish, on the other hand, laughed. "That many, aye? Just 'ow many resistances 'ave ya got?"

"Give me a sec to count," Lone requested before doing just that. "21."

"Feckin' 'ell. ye'r nae pullin' ma leg, 're ye?" the dwarf asked as munched on his toast.

Lone shook his head. "No, since you can't reveal this to anyone anyway, what would be the point of lying? I do have a few more skills I'd like to start adding into the training rotation though if you wouldn't mind."

Hamish shrugged. "The strong'r ye lot're, the better oor chances at gettin' what needs doin', done. What skills, by the by?"

"I wanna get Unarmed Combat Mastery to advanced-level-ten, Aura Pressure Resistance to as far as your aura can push it, Ungrounded - the skill I used to walk on air when we had our fight - I want to reach intermediate rank. Levelling Full Body Diagnostics could be helpful too though tricky. I've got a few more skills I want to level but I can do those alone like Fear Resistance, Nausea Resistance, and Tail Spear," Lone listed off.

"'Ow old're ye again?" Hamish asked.

"25, why?" Lone answered with a raised eyebrow.

"Motherfeck'r... Ah'm 132 an' ah only have 27 skills, of which, only 11 are advanced or above. Ah didnae get ma first skill tae the advanced rank 'til ah was well intae ma seventies," Hamish complained. "'Ow the feck're ye doin' it?"

Lone grinned. "I have a skill that lets me get other skills more easily. Lets me level them quickly too," he confessed.

"That's amazing..." he heard Breena mutter under her breath.

"Of feckin' course ye do. Feckin' heroes, am ah right?" he asked jokingly to Breena who just froze upon being addressed directly by him. "Ha-ah... Why ye'r tryin' tae learn new shite when yer such ah social wreck, lassie, makes nae feckin' sense tae me."

"Her motivations are her own," Sophie said. "Do not make fun of them nor of her. That is not your place, Dwarf."

'Sophie standing up for Breena? I thought she didn't like her... Well, I'm certainly happy to see she's not all brimstone and fire with the girl, if nothing else,' Lone thought as he stood up and stretched.

He wouldn't be earning a meditation-based skill tonight, that was for sure. He loosened the restrictions on Hamish's contract then placed a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Sorry, Fox, ah dinnae swing 'at way," the dwarf said as his face recoiled in disgust.

"Oh shut the fuck up. I'm using a skill on you. It can only be used once a day," Lone replied with a roll of the eyes. "Full Body Diagnostics."

"Thank the Stone. What does it dae?" Hamish asked.

"It diagnoses your entire body," Lone replied with a deadpan tone and expression.

"Ah, clear as coal. Ah'd 'ave never figured 'at oot withoot yer masterful description," Hamish responded in kind.

Lone pulled back his hand and two blue messages entered his vision.

You have gained a deeper connection with the world and you now understand one of her boons that little bit better. You have gained 100 World Force.

Congratulations! The host's world skill [Full Body Diagnostics] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 3.

"Oh! It actually levelled up," Lone exclaimed in joy. 'It's still a bit weird that stuff to do with World Force is in italics and that it directly addresses me as 'you' instead of as 'the host'. I wonder if it's not the same system?'

"Was it nae meant tae?" Hamish asked.

"It's a world skill. Y'know, needs understanding to level, not just repeated use," Lone explained. "By the way, it really does just do what it says on the tin. From what I can tell, you're a mostly healthy dwarf. I'm a bit surprised how different our anatomies are though."

"Well yer ah foxkin, ah'm noo. Simple as 'at. Different species an' whatnot," Hamish replied dismissively. "What'dya mean 'mostly', by the by?"

"Do you want the good news first or the bad news?" Lone asked in a serious tone.

The dwarf's demeanour turned a bit nervous upon hearing that. "Shite. Is this mere serious than ah thought? Uh... good news?"

"You're pretty damn fit for an old man," Lone answered.

"Ah'm still young fae ah dwarf, ya cheeky basterd! An' the bad news?" Hamish questioned.

Lone shook his head. "It's terminal..."

"What is?!" the dwarf yelled.

"Your stench. You're covered damn-near head-to-toe in dead skin and dried-up sweat. You, my vertically challenged friend, need a fuckin' bath. I'm surprised there aren't bugs crawling around in your skivvies," Lone said, delivering the bad news.

Sophie chuckled. "There are. We can sense them."

"Ye can see doon ma pants?!" Hamish hollered.

"We can see everything, dwarf," Sophie said ominously. "You are not the only skilled scout amongst us."

Lone summoned the bathtub he'd created months ago and placed it behind Hamish's tent. He then filled it with cold water and brought out a brush and some soap from his Dimensional Storage.

"Clean yourself up tonight, yeah? It's only common courtesy to be hygienic when travelling with others," Lone requested politely though there was little wiggle room in his tone with which to argue.

"Ah feck ye." Both Lone and Sophie joined in staring the dwarf down. Even Breena glanced at him reproachfully between turning back towards her plate of food. "... Feck! Fine. Ah'll 'ave ah feckin' bath. Feckin' topsid'r snobs!"

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Persuasion] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 9.

'Well that was more than worth it,' Lone thought before he took a place by Sophie's side and got stuck into his own dinner.