[Analyzing concept… Calibrating potency… Weighing cost…]
[Ding!]
[Skill frame established]
[Name: Stealth]
[Description: An active concealment skill that reduces the user's sound, and physical presence. While active, it temporarily enhances Agility by 100%, making detection by enemies significantly harder. However, beings of higher rank especially those with heightened perception or sensory skills, may still be able to detect the user despite concealment.]
[Cost: 100 SP]
'100 Skill Points seems like a reasonable price for this skill. I will go for it.'
Darien decided the skill was worth making. He looked around once more and confirmed his decision to make
[Successfully created a new skill!]
After the prompt, Darien expected to have the abilities within himself and was already ready to scurry out of his crouched spot. What he didn't expect was a dense, thick book, appearing out of nowhere and falling onto his lap.
'What the hell's this…?'
[A skill book, host. Skill books are simply grimoires that can be found everywhere in this world. You manifest skill books as a result of your created skill. They are to be read, comprehended, and absorbed. They can also be sold.]
[The more complex the skill, the more Intelligence is required to assimilate its contents. This is exactly where your Intelligence works.]
[Once all user-created skill books are in your hands, you can easily learn them in under a second. However, if the host stumbles upon foreign skill books, he might be faced with mental backlash if Intelligence is not up to the required level for the skill.]
Darien nodded with understanding as he ran his fingers over the tough cover of the tome. Its cover had a violet and black design with beautiful yet enigmatic engravings and an ominous aura.
In the center of the cover was the depiction of the
'Two-star skill book: Stealth…'
Darien took a deep breath and opened the first and heaviest page to immediately assimilate its contents. He felt a soft thud and a brief ache in his head, but it lasted only a single second. Afterwards, he fully absorbed and had complete knowledge of the skill
The book immediately disintegrated!
[Ding!]
[You have acquired new skill:
[Skill: Stealth]
[Type: Passive/ Physical Enhancement]
[Level: (2-star)]
[Description: An active concealment skill that reduces the user's sound, and physical presence. While active, it temporarily enhances Agility by 10%, making detection by enemies significantly harder]
[Upgrade Potential: Moderate]
Darien thought about using his new skill
'Cool!'
Darien took a forward step. His foot touched fallen, wet, and crisp leaves, but no true sound followed. This gave Darien confidence, and he pounced into action, the bright sky noting him immediately as he took careful step after step toward the shower hole.
Once Darien reached the edge of the massive hole, he looked around to be absolutely sure he wasn't noticed by anyone in the expanse. After that, he didn't waste time bending down swiftly with the sharpened and enhanced agility, his hands reaching out.
Out of the six clothes that were heaped there, Darien grabbed two pairs and made a run for it, sprinting back in the direction he came from.
Haa.. Haa…
The boy didn't know why he was panting as he scrambled back into the forest, running toward where he remembered leaving his ride. It was just a petty theft after all, and he was considerate enough to leave one pair of robes behind. The wearer would then find a solution to clothe the others when they discovered they had been robbed.
'What if I just stole the clothes of a very powerful mage?'
'Even though they're girls, I can't rule that out though.'
Darien didn't have time to check the nature and size of the clothes as he hurriedly traversed through the forest to travel further. There was no need to check because he already knew they were feminine clothes. However, that didn't matter because he was dressed in utter rags, and anything other than rags would suffice.
Darien reached his horse, tossed the clothes atop, and climbed its back in a jiffy. The sack of fruits was still with him, as were the club, dagger, and Rare weapon.
"Hyah!"
As if the girls were chasing him and his horse, Darien decided to leave this part of the forest for now and head somewhere else.
The caramel horse hurtled for about ten minutes before her rider ordered a stop once he saw a small lake.
'I can take a quick bath here and change into one of these!'
Darien hopped down from the horse and trotted to the lake. He flung the rag from his body, stripping himself naked before slowly dipping into the edge of the water.
'Halfway inside a wild lake. I'd have to be vigilant for an alligator or something…'
With Agility still increased by 100%, Darien was confident he could escape sudden underwater attacks, even though it might be barely. But at the moment, he decided to relax and wash his body thoroughly.
He saw his moonlight hair in the watery reflection for the first time, but strangely, he didn't make much stew out of it. Since this was a fantasy world, Darien thought white hair like this must be ubiquitous.
After taking his bath, it was time to change into one of the dresses. Much to his surprise, Darien wasn't disappointed at all! The clothes he had just stolen, though woven for girls, were actually unisex in terms of fashion.
'My lucky day! I was expecting a hose and more shameful design!'
The first dress was a gray tunic with cross-lace running diagonally over the back. From his understanding, that served the purpose of giving the illusion of a faint hourglass figure contour. Its trousers were a darker shade of gray meant to accentuate the legs in this case.
This was the one Darien planned to wear immediately because it was just his size and had a more masculine color—gray. The other, unfortunately, had belonged to a bigger lady and was dyed a forest-green shade. It had a cloak stitched to the vest and many cuffs and buttons.
Darien looked down at himself clad in neat clothes for the first time and sighed in deep satisfaction.
He was able to make a fire, roast the game meat, and drink some of the lake water he had just bathed in before he continued his journey atop Delilah. This time, they simply trotted calmly through the forest as if on a survey.
After 20 minutes more, Darien and his horse slowed their trail. The horse's hooves gradually reduced speed as it clopped over damp and dead leaves. Darien had been riding in silence, the interior forest wind combing through his striking hair. But when he saw a length of wire strung between two trees, buried in soil and vines, his eyes brightened with focus.
'A trap?'
The horse halted immediately with a snort when Darien pulled the riding reins. The forest fell still after they stopped moving, and Darien was left alone with his thoughts on who would set up a trap in the forest.
Suddenly, there were rustles coming from ahead, maybe around 30 feet from where he and Delilah stood. Darien began to see what he hadn't noticed at first glance: light-green regular tents in between thick tree trunks. They blended so well with the forest's nature that no one could ever suspect they were there.
Figures began to emerge from the tents—male figures—and they had weapons with them and stern eyes of scrutiny.
These were Border Knights, warriors sent to guard and protect the outer edges of provinces where the wilderness distinguishing provinces began. Unlike city guards, they lived in tents scattered across forests and unclaimed lands, watching for beasts, bandits, and also…
…those who travel without right.