Chương 35: Gemini's Blessing

"Our Trait is called [Gemini's Blessing]," Amy said.

"It... it... allows for us to receive a certain amount of stats from the other person and even Skills."

"You can gift Stats? Or share them? I don't understand," I asked, not quite sure. It was Andrew who spoke up.

"The Constellation Gemini has blessed you. Every level up you will receive a certain amount of Stat Points from the other holder of the Trait. The other holder's Stats do not disappear. If luck shines upon you, you may even receive a Skill from the other person. Both of your Magic talents are fused into one, but not your affinity to your element."

"You–" Amy stared at her brother in shock.

"You just read the description? Have you gone mad?"

"What?" He shot back.

"We already decided to take the gamble and you didn't seem to be able to put it into the right words. So, I just took the easiest path and read the description. Sometimes being smart is not having the best answer, but the fastest."

"What the hell are you even talking about? How does that–You know what. Just stay quiet." As the two siblings bickered, I carefully took in the information they provided. I don't think they truly understood the ramifications of what that trait actually meant. If the stats they shared were even just somewhat of a significant amount, this meant they would practically be undefeated at their level. No, at their Rank. In fact, they could even fight above it. And it didn't end just there, did it?

Their talents were fused into one? What did this truly mean? I had no idea, but I had a guess I was pretty happy with. Essentially, both of them already had talent to be mages, but the blessing... added them together? Multiplied them? I was not sure. Then there were also the Skills they could get from the other person. I shook my head. These two basically had two Classes and seemed to have basically no idea about it. Man, was I happy I didn't try to deceive them.

They wouldn't even need to figure out how rare a Trait was to feel cheated. As long as they continue to progress, they will be stronger, far stronger than the average person.

"How many stats do you get per level and what kind? Have you already received a Skill from the other person?" I asked, stopping their argument.

"We have no idea–" Andrew started but was stopped by a smack towards the back of his head. This Town really loved their smacks." You have no idea," Amy said.

"We have leveled up three times. The stats we gain seem to be the ones we spend our free points on. So, if I spend all my points on constitution, Andrew would get a percentage of that. The percentages seem to be random? I am not sure. It ranges from 10 percent to 50. As for skills? We haven't received any yet, but we also only have two each.

"So what if you put one point into a single stat point? Does it just disappear or do they accumulate in the background?" I asked.

"We don't–" Andrew started, but he was interrupted by his sister.

"They accumulate in the background," Amy shot Andrew a glare.

"I made sure to test it by adding my free points one by one rather than in bulk." I nodded, and was about to ask what grade their classes were. Then it dawned upon me. They have Rare Classes. That's also why they have two skills already despite not even reaching level 5. I was kind of getting jealous.

"So what kind of rare classes do the both of you have?" I said. There was simply no way they wouldn't have rare classes with a trait like that. Their magic talent alone was enough to probably grant them such a class.

"My class is called Ice Witch," Amy said.

"It's a Mage variant that explores the debuff side a little but should also offer me enough offensive power. The two skills I have are called Ice Bolt and Slow. Single target and area of effect. At least this is what my class tells me." I nodded, Witch variants of the Mage class were powerful. I remembered it from my lessons. It was like I was a sleeper agent awakening memories the moment a specific key phrase was triggered.

The Duchess of our Blackfire Kingdom, Katherine Silverfrost, was a Witch from what I remembered. Although I was not sure what kind of witch. They came in all different elements. I turned my attention to Andrew. He puffed his chest out and said, "I also have a rare class. It's called Flame Warrior. It's a mix between warrior and mage, but unlike Amy's class, my class is fully focused on the offensive. The two skills I have are Flaming Blade and Fireball." I nodded. Their classes sounded awesome.

I mean these were just their Wood Rank classes. How far would they grow once they reached Bronze, Silver, and maybe Gold?

"Do any of you have general skills?" They shook their heads. I eyed Andrew carefully, "You have heard of the tournament, have you not?" He nodded.

"You will stay out. I will give you the skill later." I didn't wait for an answer and stood up. I extended my hand and said, "Welcome! I hope this town can prosper into something greater than it currently is." They both nodded and shook my hand.

"It will," Amy said.

"It's our home after all." With that, we went our separate ways. It looks like I already found who would have the most use out of our Goblin spawner. My Class gave me Skills and now even loot. I wonder if it will also let me gain a Trait somehow?

Another week passed quickly. It was now barely one day before the Beastwave would arrive. The nerves were high. Life inside the town slowed down as each passing second they were reminded of the impending doom. The ground shifted beneath us, tremors spreading. It was very faint, but you could feel it. It was not a very nice way to fall asleep. By now, the guerrilla warfare had already started. One of the combat Veterans whom Gerald trusted with his life was actually an archer.

These past weeks, he had trained our long-range fighters in surviving inside the forest and how to hit their target. A day ago, he and all of the long-range fighters set off into the forest. Each of them had multiple small poisons strapped to their belts. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. They would try to poison the beast's food with a slow-acting paralyzing poison—anything else we had too little in quantity.

The poison wouldn't actually paralyze them, but make their movement more sluggish. Once that was done, they would start the dangerous part—their hit-and-run game. A few were even ready to take the risk to try to lure the beast away from the town. Of course, Amy and Andrew stayed behind. I couldn't risk them. Anyway, these long-range fighters would return in half a day or less, rest up and sleep, then the real war would begin.

I have also decided to give Marcus, the veteran leading the archers, a skill: Tactician's Mind. I had him swear an Oath not to disclose anything, but Gerald insisted the man swore an Oath of loyalty instead. Marcus did so. With the additional General Skill, I felt more comfortable sending the man away. I also wanted to send the twins into the goblin spawner Sebastian had found in hopes of getting them to Stone Rank as fast as possible. But the man denied my request.

The cave system he had found was too far into the forest, and they wouldn't reach it before the beastwave reached it. So, that was a bummer. Our defenses were going very well. The zig-zag pattern was fully complete days ago, and so were the traps inside the maze. Samuel decided to dig a few more holes a little further into the forest in hopes of slowing down the charge and killing a few. That work in progress was what I was looking at right now.

Samuel and I stood inside a small watchtower the builders had created for us. With that, we could oversee the whole battlefield. In the distance, where the Verdant Expanse began, we could see small figures moving between the trees and shoveling into the ground. Thanks to their enhanced stats, the men and women could work fast.

"How are you feeling?" Samuel asked me.

"Nervous," I said honestly.

"You have done well, my Lord."

"It's too early to tell," I said. With that, we turned quiet again. The tremors of the beastwave traveled up our watchtower, and the wood shook ever so slightly. I looked into the distance, trying to spot the impending beastwave. Luckily, I didn't. For what felt like an eternity, Samuel and I stood atop the watchtower, not really knowing what to do. We had less than 24 hours before the fight. Everything was already set in motion, and any last-minute changes were practically useless.

We couldn't drown ourselves in the work anymore, and now the nerves got to us.

"I will go train," I said.

"Do that, my Lord." I climbed down the ladder before freezing a couple of wooden rungs away from the ground. I hadn't even asked the man how he was holding up.

"Everything will go well," I called up, and Samuel poked his confused face over the railing.

"Don't worry, Samuel. We have prepared for as long as we could, and everyone is working together well." Samuel stared at me before nodding slowly. I climbed down the last few rungs before walking back towards my mansion. Maybe I should have asked him how he was doing rather than reassuring him? No, that was not what Lords do. I dismissed the thought and moved back to my mansion. I could feel the impending doom. But I knew from experience it wasn't because of the beastwave. I could use Life Simulation soon.

I could tell that whatever the Skill had in store for me next, it would be soon and big. Very, very big. For the next twelve hours, I swung my fists through the air. Punch after punch. Kick after kick. I just wanted to forget what was happening. Every time I was tired, I would enter a state of meditation until I felt like I could go again. Time flew by. Then loud horns were blown. The sound was glaring and ear-piercing and only for a brief moment. I froze and waited for two more horns.

They didn't come, and my body relaxed. The guerrilla warriors were back. I wiped my sweat away, drank a liter of fresh water, and glanced at my notifications. Unarmed Combat has reached level 8. Meditation [Common] has reached level 7. I grinned. The first notification was the one I was waiting for. The second one was a nice boon. For the past week, I had been running Minor Simulation after Minor Simulation. Of course, every time I made sure to give Mila the Unarmed Combat Skill.

I considered giving it to Timothy but decided not to take any risks. I had a plan. And that plan was coming to fruition right now. In the past week, I had gained the Unarmed Combat Skill five times over. Meaning Mila still would have the Skill in the next run, and the five ones in my Status screen were mine. Looking at my Limbo State Skills was quite a sight, considering it was literally just five times the Unarmed Combat skill listed one after another. I hadn't merged with any of them for a simple reason.

It was to level up Unarmed Combat one last time. I, of course, considered giving away the General Skill to somebody else, but there were practically no bare-knuckle fighters, and the Skill was better in my hands. I dismissed my thoughts and focused back on my status screen and my Limbo State Skills. Do you wish to merge [Unarmed Combat - Common] into [Unarmed Combat - Uncommon]? The notification appeared five times. My grin couldn't help but widen. This was going to be fun. Yes.

With that, the notification disappeared from my vision, only to be replaced by another cascade of blue boxes. [Unarmed Combat - Common] has merged into [Unarmed Combat - Uncommon]. [Unarmed Combat - Common]...... The same message was repeated five times in total before we came to the truly fun part. [Unarmed Combat - Uncommon] has reached level 9. [Unarmed Combat - Uncommon] has reached level 10.... [Unarmed Combat - Uncommon] has reached level 15. I whistled as I looked at the number in front of me.

I could feel the knowledge that was fed into my mind. Suddenly, I knew how to fight better, more efficiently, and be even deadlier. At the same time, every time I used my fists as weapons, my body would be strengthened even further, and I would be faster, stronger, and sturdier. It felt awesome. Unarmed Combat was now my highest-ranking skill. A bummer that Mana Manipulation was now dethroned, but I promised to rectify that. Looks like I would have to get Mana Manipulation to Rare then.

Remembering that the guerrilla soldiers were back, I wiped my sweat away and put on some respectable clothes. Then I hurried outside and practically ran through the town. On the outside, I wore a smile, happy to welcome my warriors back, but on the inside, anxiety gnawed on me. I shoved all these thoughts away and simply moved forward. I forced myself through the crowd that had formed and made my way towards the front. Despite me being late to the party, none of the archers etc. were present.

I grew nervous for a moment, thinking most of them had died before I spotted a couple of disheveled figures pour out of the forest. I could see people limping, others carrying one or two people. Their leather armors were strapped with cuts, and dried blood clung to their faces and bodies. They looked like they had been through war. What the hell happened?

"Don't just stand there! Get the people some fucking help!" I commanded, and this seemed to get the people around me going. The rest of the army forced the civilians to stay back. Most of them had family or friends that went out. Another part of the soldiers sprinted towards the men and women coming out of the forest. All of the holes were dodged or avoided. They, of course, knew about them and had already trained in this environment multiple times.

Out of my peripheral vision, I could see healing pastes being dragged out of a nearby barn we had built. Despite the chaos and panic, the people were well-trained and prepared. The injured were split up into life-threatening injuries and non-life-threatening injuries. Luckily, there were barely any of the former. Then a green salve was slapped upon their bodies. I observed the process with pride, making sure that everything stayed organized with the help of Samuel and Gerald.

More and more people poured out of the forest, and we sent somebody to get a headcount. Time passed quickly as the people around us were getting treated. Even Sebastian joined me by my side. I was getting a little fidgety. Did they complete their mission? How did so many get injured? They were supposed to stay as far away as possible.

"Where the fuck is my battle report," I mumbled to no one.

"Patience, Ivor," Sebastian next to me said. He seemed to be completely calm as if this was an everyday occurrence. Luckily, my patience didn't have to be tested, as I heard screaming from my side. There Marcus, the veteran who led these folks and the man whom I had given Tactician's Mind, screamed wildly. He tore off the bandages of his body and stood up despite the vehement denial of his 'doctor'. He frantically looked around before spotting me. He limped across the ground as fast as possible.

"Lord Ivor," he screamed, panic evident in his voice.

"There are Demons. There are fucking Demons among these fucking beasts. There are Demons charging towards our town!" Oh.