BXBX NOVEL Chapter 109 - New Talent: Dark Echo
The knight walked from one resident to the other, extorting whatever he could in the name of a protection tax. Nikolai couldn\'t see how his actions were different from those of gangsters, taking away what little money people had.
"Lead me to your nest," Nikolai locked on the knight as he walked in the dark dimension, unseen by anyone. The knight\'s final stop was an inn where two others waited for him.
"Did you collect the money?" one of the older knights asked as he gulped his cup. The innkeeper glanced at them with unease, as if fearing they might turn on him at any moment.
"Every penny," the knight who visited Woody\'s Store grinned and placed down the pouch. "All we have to do now is to get rid of the monsters and get back to the border."
\'Ah, they are border knights,\' Nikolai realized, and his mouth curled into a grin. There was one slight problem in crossing the border: The Detectors.
These were Defiers who had a high intelligence stat and an adjacent skill to detect people illegally crossing the border. Nikolai could apply for a permit, but he had to be a merchant, military personal, or nobility to be approved.
Ordinary people will be investigated if they want to visit the Bestial Kingdom where half-humans lived, as the war against the Bestial King was only seven years ago.
\'However,\' a sly smile appeared on his face, \'these knights have a permit, making the detectors unwary of them if they do cross the border.\'
The knights were at the F-rank. Otherwise, they wouldn\'t have been border knights, patrolling for F-rank monsters and below. Despite being an F-Rank himself, Nikolai couldn\'t attack them head-on, as he hasn\'t gotten used to his new weapon yet.
"Then let\'s delay any longer," the third knight was a bony man with thin hair. "We ought to finish the monsters and return to our post."
"Always a boring character," the older knight sighed. "If you were a character in a book, you would die as soon as you appear."
The other knights gave a hearty laugh as the thin man hmphed angrily and drank his fill. Nikolai watched the irony from the shadows, as all these knights would be ones to die soon.
It was midday when the three walked out of the inn, a bit tipsy. Nikolai made sure that he doesn\'t get too close, as one can\'t be too cautious. They walked toward the edge of the forest before going in, looking for the monsters\' nest.
Nikolai could almost envision his plan\'s execution. First, he would wait for the three to find the nest and divide. If they stayed together, that was fine too, but it would be trickier. Then, he would use the opening revealed by their fight to strike their necks and devour them.
\'It does not matter to me if these people were generally good or bad,\' Nikolai\'s red eyes stared at them with apathy. \'They extorted people, and I need to devour them. They are rotten.\'
As his thoughts reached this place, Nikolai remembered his reward from the latest quest. Unlike the time where his system evolved, this Bloodline Talent was not something he could choose. It was already chosen for him.
[Dark Echo: this talent allows you to use your darkness to resonate with people\'s inner hearts, where their darkest desires are. You can charm them using that desire to make them do your bidding. The duration depends on the action and mana used.]
This was a different talent from the rest, as it used his Darkness instead of Fate. However, the emergence of this talent confused Nikolai greatly, as he couldn\'t understand the difference between a skill and a talent anymore. However, his confusion was cut short when the system gave him the following message:
[Please check your Overview Menu.]
Nikolai realized that his stats menu has changed to \'Overview,\' and he decided to see what changed. He found four more rows in addition to his stats.
[Rank F]
[Fae Talent: A Wise Choice.]
[Dark Talent: Dark Echo.]
[Skill: N/A]
At that time, Nikolai had to rub his eyes twice to make sure he didn\'t see things. He could tell that \'Rank F\' was his current strength. It was common knowledge that you can only have one skill at every rank, but he somehow has three slots?
There was Fae, Dark, and Skill. Assuming the last one refers to the skills ordinary people were after, the first two were exclusive to his bloodline: Dark Fae.
\'Should I try it?\' Nikolai wondered as he looked at the knights. It was undoubtedly the best opportunity to try it, but he wasn\'t sure if it would give away his location. \'Well, if it comes down to it, I can just hide again.\'
The darkness swirled around his feet and crawled on the ground. It avoided the sun and walked the shadows as it inched toward the thin, bald man. Then, like a parasite, a piece of darkness latched itself to his shadow, dissolving into it.
Nikolai squinted his eyes as the dark desire of the man became known to him: greed. He looked at the pouch on the older knight\'s wrist, and an evil smile played on his lips.
"That money is yours, all yours, if you kill these two," the darkness transmitted Nikolai\'s whispers as the greed within the man\'s heart, no matter how small it was, spread like a plague.
The man stopped moving and shook his head, and Nikolai wondered if he had failed. However, like an echo, his darkness resonated with the man\'s greed, multiplying it.
"Money," the knight muttered, startling his two friends. They turned to the man with confusion as he stood there silently.
"Are you alright, Henry?" the older knight asked with unease. There was something in Henry\'s eyes that unnerved whoever met them.
"I..." the man named Henry shook his head again. "I\'m alright," he said with a smile that crept his companions, but they didn\'t comment further and chose to continue on their search.
Nikolai followed them silently as he watched Henry, whose greed has been temporarily increased by the darkness. However, it seems Nikolai would need to give a more direct order for the knight to act immediately.
\'It seems he retained his judgment instead of turning into a mindless puppet. Dark Echo allows me to use people\'s dark desires to make them do things for me, but they wouldn\'t turn into blind followers.\'
This was fine as well, as Mind Manipulation was something only Grand Skill or higher could achieve. Nikolai didn\'t know if his talents are upgradable like skills are or if they had the mastery, but he needed to experiment further.
Henry\'s eyes darted from one knight to the other as he walked behind them. An evil smile appeared on his face that Nikolai could see from afar.
\'3/10, lacking in ability and only derived by evil.\' Nikolai rated the evil smile with a shake of disapproval. At that moment, the extorting knight stopped as he sniffed.
"Blood,"
\'What are you, a dog?\' Nikolai looked around. The darkness made it hard for him to sense things, and he would have to leave his stealth to see if there was a scent of blood.
"The nest is nearby," the older knight nodded as he grabbed the hilt of his sword. "Get ready for battle. The report said the monsters are a group of mischievous kobolds with the ability to change their color and blend into the surrounding."
"How did these rats get here?" the knight who was sniffing pulled out his two daggers.
"They are not rats, idiots," the older knight grumbled as he kept his hand on his hilt. "Dammit, Henry, snap out of whatever the fuck you are on. I won\'t help you if they capture you!"
The three knights stood back-to-back, each holding their weapons tightly. They stood alert as the wind hissed through the trees. Then, something moved from beyond the shadows of the trees, and it was enough to make them alert.
"It\'s time for a bloody show," Nikolai reached out toward the void and took out his weapons. The forest was growing dark around them, but Nikolai knew it was one of the kobolds\' abilities.
The twin blades appeared in his hand, each sharp enough to threaten to slash space. The chains linking them shortened, removing the need for him to watch his steps.
Then, he saw it, a figure running past him toward the knights. Nikolai never thought the kobold would be this close to him, but he trusted his stealth would make him go unhindered.
From within the dimming light emerged the monster, its scales bringing the only sheen in the forest. It used its sharp claws to attack the extorting knight as if the heavens knew he was the most deserving one of death.
Clang!
The claws were deflected by the older knight\'s sword, which returned to its sheath. Then, however, another one of the kobolds descended from above.