Touch of Fate

Chapter 6: Ready for Inspection

Before Mike knew what had happened, his body had already leaned slightly out the way as the thrown fist traveled by his face. He felt a slight amount of resistance as it scraped by his right cheek. His eyes travelled up the arm and focused on the face of armored woman named Kaya who had thrown the punch.

She currently had a faint look of surprise which swiftly morphed into rage under Mike's gaze. He took a moment to examine her more closely, while taking a step back. She looked to be around 18 or 19 and stood a little bit taller than him. Her blonde hair was tied back in a tight ponytail, revealing a face made mostly of sharp lines and a pair of clear blue eyes. From what Mike could tell under her armor, she had a thin, athletic build. Had her face not been twisted into an angry mask, he would have found her pretty.

"Bastard!" She grunted through clenched teeth. "Not only could you have gotten us all killed, but you had to fall on me in .that." She trailed off. Her flushed face now looking more the product of embarrassment than anger.

"She means that you landed on her butt first, and she got a bit more acquainted with your privates than she would have like." Morris added helpfully while trying, and failing, to suppress a grin. This statement was met by a wave of chuckles from the rest of the soldiers

She glared at him, and he had the gall to look a bit smug about it. "Does no one else care about this? If the commander hadn't taken such quick action people could have died here because of him."

The other men shifted their gazes and shuffled their feet awkwardly as a response.

"That's enough lass." The large bearded man broke in, "Judging by his method of joining us here, I doubt he had much choice in the matter. Besides, nobody was hurt, and you yourself played a key role in that. No one else here could have helped me hold that beast back like you did."

Still looking a bit miffed, but obviously pleased with the compliment, Kaya announced, "Fine, have it your way." She then turned a stalked off into the woods to brood a bit.

"You'll have to forgive her. She comes off a bit strong, but her hearts in the right place." The commander said while walking over to Mike. He gestured to Morris to bring of over the spare set of clothes.

"My name's Beorn, and I have the misfortune of being in charge of these misfits." This elicited a chuckle from the others, who Mike noticed were in the process of setting up a temporary perimeter.

"You've already met my lieutenants Morris and Kaya. We are members of the Order of the Wheel, out patrolling this region. Now, perhaps you'd like to introduce yourself and explain what it was you were doing wandering around in the woods completely naked?"

Mike used the act of pulling on the spare set of pants to buy himself a few seconds to think. He had already considered the possibility of these people asking him about his origins, but had not had enough time to come up with a reliable story. Not knowing what else to do, he decided to go with clichd method.

"My name is Michael, but you can call me Mike. As to what I was doing up here, I can't tell you. I must have hit my head at some point because my memory is all fuzzy. The last thing I really remember is waking up in a forest clearing already naked." While he was saying all this, he felt like a small surge of energy passed through him, but was unsure of the origin. He didn't think this lie was particularly believable, and was starting to sweat a little.

Beorn initially looked a bit skeptical, but when Morris chimed in with, "Well, there are a few bandit groups in the area. Maybe you were ambushed and robbed by one. A good blow to the head will scramble most people's wits."

"That's true." Another guy added from his place on the perimeter. "I knew a guy once who fell off the roof of his house. Hit his head and was unconscious for near a week. When he woke up, he didn't even recognize his own wife. He eventually got his memories back though."

The grizzled commander's expression softened, "Fair enough. Don't mean to doubt you lad, but it's part of my job to keep an eye out for dangerous individuals."

Mike nodded, relief flooding through him.

"Now, we should move. No telling when that beast might return." Beorn continued. "Let's head back to camp. We'll have to escort our new addition back to Denirval, and I would rather not walk the whole way."

At his words the group picked up and started moving into formation. Beorn and Kaya walked in front, followed by Morris. The other twelve fanned out at the back, holding their rifles at the ready. Morris motioned for Mike to take a spot next to him before signaling that he should be silent. The group started moving after a hand signal from Beorn.

Mike was impressed with the discipline and coordination displayed by this team. It reminded him of the soldiers that often appeared in movies back on Earth. Although he had a number of questions he wanted to ask, he'd have to wait until they reached some level of safety. With nothing better to do as the group walked through the idyllic forest, Mike checked his [Status] to see if there was anything he could do to explain the weird surge of energy he felt earlier.

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[Status]

Michael Rasmussen

Race: Human

Age: 15

Class: Skill Master

Title: Multiverse Traveler Active

Blessed One

Hunter of Renown

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[Skills]

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Primary Skills:

Communication Magic (Rank 1)

Secondary Skills:

Lifestyle Magic (Rank 0)

Running (Rank 1) (NEW)

Basic Evasion (Rank 1) (NEW)

Passive Skills:

None

Inherent Skills:

Traveler's Luck

Fate-Touched

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He was genuinely surprised to see the new entries in his status page. [I wonder if it is typical to gain skills this easily. I know my class has a 'Large' increase to the acquisition of skills, but I don't know what that really means.] He concentrated on the new skills.

- Running (Tier 1, Rank 1) -

While almost all living, terrestrial creatures know a way to move faster than normal in times of need, some are better than others. Minor increase to Endurance in relation to fatigue felt after running.

- Basic Evasion (Tier 1, Rank 1) -

The art of not getting hit. Minor increase to Agility when seeking to evade blows and potential hazards.

Mike shrugged internally. [This is some pretty basic stuff, but since I didn't really put in any effort into getting it, I guess I should be happy about it. I wonder what other skills I can pick up like this.] He felt a collector's passion as he considered where to begin.

After lengthy internal debate, he decided to focus on the old novel standby, and tried to acquire an analysis skill. Not really sure how to approach it, he continued to borrow ideas from novels he had read in the past, and picked up a rock. He then focused on the rock with all of his concentration...before running into Kaya and nearly pushing her over.

Not for the first time, he wondered if Selenica had cursed him with bad luck rather than the alternative. On the bright side, it gave him the chance to practice his Basic Evasion skill as she promptly tried to severely beat him with her spear handle.

A bruised and battered Mike resumed his efforts while a chuckling Morris shook his head beside him. [Maybe it's less about concentration by itself and more about the process.] He started to build a mental profile of the rock's attributes, seeking to gain insight into its make-up. He continued this process for the rest of the afternoon, much to the consternation of the group who were starting to feel a little weirded out by the strange guy who stared at a rock for hours.

Finally, when it started to get dark, Mike made a breakthrough. He was just starting to consider licking the rock to determine if perhaps taste was the missing key when he felt a mental release of pressure and a message popped in his vision over the rock.

{Rock}

A small rock.

... Mike threw the rock down in disgust. He wondered if the system was playing with him. He hoped that anything in the new entry in the Primary Skills section of his [Status] said will give him something to make him feel better about the situation.

Inspect (Tier 2, Rank 1)

A more advanced version of the Observe skill. Accesses the Akashic Records to gather information on the target. The more influential the item or individual is, the more information can be garnered. Higher skill ranks provide more information. Of limited use on living beings.

Mike wondered if perhaps the rock was the problem and decided to test his new skill on more 'influential' subjects. He focused on the back of Kaya's head to see what, if anything, the skill would provide. He was rewarded with a short message.

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Kaya (Last name unknown)

Race: Unknown

Age: Unknown

Class: Unknown

Title: Knight

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Looking over the message, he had to agree, it wasn't very useful. He was a little surprised that this rude, violent thing could be called a knight, but chalked it up to a difference in culture. Still, at least Inspect will let him know others titles. That could provide some useful information when dealing with others.

He drew in a sharp breath.

Mike almost hit himself when he realized the implication.

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