Henry’s nap only lasted for a couple of minutes before he realized he hadn’t checked his notifications just yet. While his companions slept, and while his Octominds struggled to control the unstable blob of water hovering over the pool through the disguise, Henry, still on his back, pulled the notifications up and read through them. He was glad to see everything was progressing well.

  Shiftiness of the Trickster (C): Level 2 -> Level 3

  Misdirection of the Trickster (C): Level 3 -> Level 4

  Thaumaturgy of the Trickster (C): Level 2 -> Level 3

  Swiftness of the Trickster (D): Level 3 -> Level 5

  Fury of the Trickster (D): Level 4 -> Level 5

  The earlier escape, coupled with the heavy work he’d done on his new Mimicry skill, had already netted him a level. As for the D-rank Aspects, they were catching up fast as well, and soon they would be C-rank as well.

  That reminds me, I haven’t upgraded Vitality yet, haven’t I?

  Henry had enough tokens on hand, so he triggered the upgrade and waited as the magic did its thing. At this point he was used to the process, but even though he’d felt a bit tired barely minutes ago, the fatigue was slowly washed away as a wave of renewed vitality permeated his body.

  Maybe I wasn’t even that tired to begin with.

  Henry didn’t remember how long he’d slept last time. Or when. It was difficult to keep track of time underwater, when everything was always bathed in the golden glow of the Current, and the issue wasn’t unique to him.

  Now that he was on the surface, he could see the difference between day and night. But it never really got dark in Thalis, which was why all residences—including the ones they’d gotten—had blackout curtains and sealable doors.

  He was both impressed and proud at how well people had adapted to this environment. If he hadn’t seen Thalis with his own eyes, after having spent the last few weeks in the lights of the Current, he would have doubted a settlement such as this one would even be possible.

  He’d expect it to get destroyed by monsters within days. Or storms. Or god knows what else was possible in this world. But it seemed like the people here had been around for a while, and they were thriving.

  Vitality of the Trickster (C) - Level 1

  Arcane Regeneration

  Passives:

  Accelerated Recovery: Recover from injuries and ailments faster. While meditating, health and mana recovery are sped up further.

  Hoard Vitals [58 Charges]: Continuously form charges of health and mana to be used at a later time.

  Actives:

  F-Rank: Spend mana to restore your health and recover from ailments.

  E-Rank: Spend a larger amount of mana for a significant burst of regeneration.

  D-Rank: You can apply your regeneration on other beings through touch.

  C-Rank: Create a consumable and storable orb containing up to 50% of your own health and mana.

  Henry read the description and raised a brow. At first, he thought it was just a Hoard Vitals upgrade, but he quickly realized that it wasn’t, even though it shared a couple of similarities with the skill. This new skill could hold a lot more health and mana, and it didn’t seem to be limited to his own consumption. He’d have to test it to be sure, but aside from his own survivability, this looked like yet another way for him to make some money.

  I kinda want to test it right now, though.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Henry tuned into the work of his training Octominds and watched as they tried to cast the Control Water skill through the interference and limitation of Mimicry’s shell. The magic surrounding his real body was, in a way, like a chain link fence. Layers and layers of fence that made up the form he was wearing. To cast something into the world, his spell had to get through the layers and into the real world, which required precise control and timing for even a simple spell such as Control Water.

  This didn’t mean he couldn’t cast big skills. They’d just tear through the fence, which would make them a last resort.

  Trying to imitate the Octominds, Henry triggered the new orb-creating skill and closed his eyes. Before he could adjust or control what was happening, a bowling-ball sized hole was torn through his human chest.

  Henry looked down at it, and saw a couple of his real arms.

  Oh well.

  With the skill still ongoing, Henry let the magic drag his health and mana out and toward the small freed-up space in front of his kraken body. A bead of vibrant turquoise had already formed, and as the feeling of weakness and emptiness filled his chest, the bead grew larger.

  Henry cut off the skill, and the bead fell to the wooden ground. As he leaned over to pick it up, he assigned one of his free Octominds to work on fixing the gaping hole in his chest. In a moment.

  The little bead was around half an inch wide, and it did feel like some sort of miracle health pill. Henry grinned, then passed it up to the arm peeking out of his chest so he could store it in Maw before sitting down to let his Octomind fix his body.

  This was a nice little upgrade.

  Henry laid back down, and closed his eyes as his Octominds worked.

  Finally, time for a little nap.

  An hour or two later, it was day once more, and Henry woke back up just in time to see a large ball of condensed water crash back down into the pool.

  In a way, he’d already been aware of everything going on in his surroundings. His clones and Octominds had been watching. But it still felt odd to be aware of these things while he’d been asleep. Henry knew one day he’d get used to it, but it wasn’t going to be today.

  “Henry! What are we doing today? I want to go back to see the farmers. Can you take me there? Actually, can’t I just go there? Wait, no… the steps are annoying. Henry, carry me there, please!”

  The kraken sighed, and began lifting the crab up, but not sooner had the little red legs lifted off the ground that Maurice got dropped again.

  The crab shook his claw at Henry. “Ouch! What the heck, Henry?”

  Henry heard him, but he didn’t respond. Instead, he was focusing on his Telekinesis and how the skill was being cast.

  You’d think it’s the same as Control Water, but it’s not behaving the same way. It’s being cast… directly on the target, without a link to my real body. Not a link that I can see.

  It hadn’t disturbed the Mimicry shell at all.

  Paying close attention to the spell, Henry lifted Maurice again, confirming that the shell was not being disturbed at all by the skill. Next, he activated his Domain and cast Control Water through it. Instantly, cracks and bits broke out all over the disguise.

  But he noticed something else.

  The shell’s not disturbed when a skill is cast through Domain. But Domain itself affects the shell a tiny bit…

  There was a trick there. A way to cast things through the shell. But to do so, he had to… move the point of origin of the skill itself away from his real body?

  But how?

  Maurice tapped him on the thigh. “What is it?”

  Henry glanced down at the crab and grinned. “Just thought of a solution to a problem. So, you want to go with the farmers? How about you, Stormsong?”

  “[I’d like to keep working on my project for a few more hours. I think I’m close.]”

  Henry nodded. “Alright. I’ll check back on you in a couple of hours. I’m going to see if I can trade a couple of things at the market hall.”

  They had the most stuff he was interested in over there. He wanted some good food, sure, but he wasn’t that hungry just yet/ And honestly, he just wanted to figure a few things out about skills and whatnot. Considering his little stockpile of cores and how interested that special instructor had been about his Aspects, Henry would bet he could secure a few tips and tricks out of her. Maybe he could even find a book or something about all of this.

  Or enroll in the classes… but I can probably pay someone for a private course.

  In any case, Henry couldn’t wait. But to be safe, he left a blood clone in the pool with Stormsong, and stuck a mini-kraken on top of Maurice’s shell and turned it invisible. Even if they weren’t together, he’d still keep an eye on them. To prevent accidents and misunderstandings and whatnot.

  Over the next few minutes, Henry dropped off Maurice who’d scurried off like an unsupervised child, then made his way up toward the market hall.

  Henry stepped into the covered alleyway, a glimmer in his eyes, and the sound of wind and waves cut off as soon as he moved through the threshold. Instead of the quiet he’d expected, he heard soft chatter, some haggling here and there, and he saw a couple of heads turn. Some eyes lingered, but others quickly turned back to their own business.

  Glancing to the right, he saw the special instructor in the same seat he’d seen her in yesterday, pen scribbling in her bound book.

  Without stopping her smooth penmanship, she spoke. “I’ll be with you in a moment, Henry.”

  The kraken blinked, but he didn’t let that intimidate him. This was his chance to get some answers, and he wasn’t walking away without them.

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