Chapter 16
“Mom, what do you think I should do about her offer?”
Alana’s gaze was lost in thoughts, but she immediately refocused as she heard the question.
“Kai, you clearly have thought both possibilities through, there is nothing more I can add. Lady Virya is giving you a unique opportunity, if this is what you want you should take it. Don’t worry about the money, we are going to be fine.”
He wasn’t too convinced. They weren’t at risk of starving, but they weren’t living comfortably either. They could improve their lives many times over with that money.
“Mom, if I take the money, we could go wherever we want and give better opportunities to my sisters. Wouldn’t Ele like not having to take a job so soon? And what about Kea, she always says how she hates Greenside. Isn’t it wrong and selfish to take a gamble for me, when I could help us all for certain?”
The reason why Virya offered him so much money—given that the sum was probably nothing to her—was to tempt him to see how resolute he was in his choice. But how could he forgive himself if he didn’t consider what was best for his family?
“Sweetie, how do you think your sisters would feel if you gave up this opportunity for them? How do you think I would feel? We could always use more coin, but we can also do without. This is your opportunity, if you refuse it for us, we would be the selfish ones.”
Despite her reassurance, Kai didn’t feel any better. “But what if I take her offer and fail? Wouldn’t I have wasted it all for nothing?”
They had walked far from the mansion while they talked. Alana stopped and sat down by the sea, patting the sand beside her for him.
He was too nervous to stay put, but he forced himself to sit.
“Kai, I can’t tell you what decision to make, but I’m sure you will be able to surpass anyone’s expectations if you choose to stay.” She said it with such conviction he also believed it for a moment.
He then realized he had been wishing Alana would give him the excuse to take the money and leave. He would sacrifice himself for his family and take the easy path with the perfect excuse. Being the ideal son and not having to test himself.
Alana kissed him on his forehead, “I’ll always be here for you whatever happens, and your sisters will too.” She took off her pendant with the two concentric circles crossed by a line—the sacred symbol of the Archipelago—and offered it to him. “Remember the spirits always help their sons and daughters who strive for more.”
Kai took the pendant from her, it wasn’t as practical as he would have hoped, but he knew how much it meant for his mom. Thankfully Alana’s advice wasn't over.
“If you can’t make a decision, try to imagine yourself many years from now. You are much older, having taken one of two choices: how will your life be? Will you be happy and satisfied? Think of the life you want to live. Take your time, I’ll wait here for you.” She smiled at him like he could do no wrong.
I wish I had that confidence.
Kai needed to move to think, so he started walking along the shore, where the sand met the sea. He fidgeted with his mother’s pendant while the rolling waves touched his feet.
Doing as his mother told him, he closed his eyes and tried to imagine his future. If he chose the safe option, he would be able to carve himself a very respectable life in the Archipelago.
As he grew the confines of the islands would begin to feel tighter. He would probably visit the mainland, but by then he would be too far behind. As he had taken the safe choice before, he would do so again and go back to the Archipelago. Maybe marry and have a nice family, leading a quiet life and abandoning any thought of adventure.
Not exactly what he had dreamt of, but he was no child—not completely at least. It wasn’t a bad life.
Then he imagined the other option: he accepted Virya’s offer to stay. After that, if he failed and got sent home with nothing, his life would be harder, but it would likely repeat the first scenario.
The question was if he didn’t fail…
In the first scenario he was happy, but was he satisfied? He would be a big fish in a very small pond subjected to the whims of the outside. The Republic or any other unknown entity could come and do as they please, and he would not be able to do anything. It would be like when the governor took away their home or when a crimson pool expanded under one of the people he loved.
If he took the risk, he might not be good enough to become the hero of the story or even a side character, but at least he would know he had tried his best. If he chose the first option, he couldn’t lie to himself - he would be a coward.
With the truth bare in front of him, there was only one choice he could live with. He would never be powerless again.
* * *
After he communicated his decision to Virya, the world kept going as if nothing had changed. The sky didn’t thunder, and the waves didn’t stop crashing on the beach. He said his goodbyes to his mom, who promised to be back in a month to visit.
It all felt so anticlimactic, not even Virya had any reaction. She continued reading her book unperturbed. He felt very irritated, she was the one who told him how important this decision was.
It took his evening session of meditation under three pale moons to see things more clearly: he had just done the easy part, now he had to live up to his choice. Maybe Virya didn’t say anything because she didn’t expect him to last long.
I’ll prove her wrong.
With that thought he fell asleep. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.
* * *
The next morning began as usual with a brief meditation by the sea. It had reached level 49 the day before, only one more to 50.
When Elijah appeared before him, Kai was determined to look confident.
“From today onward I’ll increase the distance each day.” The man said, without giving him more than a glance.
Kai had expected that and began to run without a word.
Now I feel like one of those aloof protagonists. Nothing can stop me!
Less than an hour later, he was heaving on the sand with the grace of a whale stranded on shore. His limbs had turned to jelly, and he was glad he had not eaten breakfast yet. He would have certainly thrown up anything in his stomach.
He thought he had gotten somewhat used to it after last week, how wrong he was. The smirking butler increased the distance far more than he expected. He didn’t think he would ever see the new red marker, but he had not wavered.
I made it!
“You have ten minutes to make yourself presentable, Lady Virya wants to see you.” Elijah’s flat tone announced.
Kai cursed him, before dashing to the shower as fast as he could, despite not feeling his legs.
Elijah led him to the pavilion by the sea. The owner of the house was leisurely having breakfast there, which reminded him of how hungry he was.
They waited by the side for her to make a sign to come closer.
“Come.”
Kai walked up to the table and sat down. From the way Elijah glared at him, he must have done something wrong, but he ignored him and stared at the pastries on the table.
“Leave him be Elijah, what’s the point of performing formalities if he doesn’t know what they mean? This way we’ll waste less time.”
Kai hid a smirk.
“And you, child, should be more respectful. If you offend someone you can’t afford to, you won’t last long. Most influential people love drowning themselves in complicated rules for every aspect of social interaction. You should never be so brazen when you don’t know who stands before you.”
Kai nodded his head like a pecking chicken, “I apologize if I offended anyone.”
“You should also try to seem more sincere, when you ask for forgiveness.”
Kai blushed, but Virya didn’t look like she cared and continued her breakfast.
I even have an Acting skill! I might as well act as if she could read my mind.
“I'll have to teach you some etiquette, if you last long enough.” With that casual backhand comment, the real grilling began.
“You can start by telling me all your skills and their level.”
Kai was taken off-guard. How could she casually ask for such private information? He was sure that was against social etiquette too.
“I thought you already knew. Can you not see my status?”
Elijah’s voice reached him cold as ice, “Brat, answer the question. You don’t even know how lucky you are.” Kai could feel him staring daggers at his back, while Virya continued sipping her tea.
Well, if she is going to teach me, she probably needs to know anyway.
Kai pulled out his status and started reading his skills.
Name: Kai Tylenn
Race: Human
Profession: None
Body stats
Strength: 4
Dexterity: 5>6
Constitution: 8
Mind: 9
Spirit: 11
Perception: 8
Skills (7/7):
Meditation (lv45>49)
Acting (lv24>26)
Swimming (lv34>40)
Running (lv36>43)
Teaching (lv7)
Awareness (lv9>17)
Mana Sense (lv21>23)
One by one, Kai told her everything.
“Meditation level 49.”
Virya smiled, “That will make things easier.”
He was surprised that elicited a reaction. Kai thought his Mana Sense level was more impressive, considering it was a higher tier skill. Looking at her, she was unreadable. Maybe Meditation was helpful to learn magic, he guessed, but he was soon distracted.
“You might as well eat something.” She gestured towards the table. He had not been discreet when staring at a perfectly ripe mango that was calling his name.
While Kai happily ate, Virya continued to speak.
“From now on, you'll continue to work on Running and Swimming, adding Awareness and Mana Sense too. You can continue meditating on your own. Tell Elijah when you reach level 50. As for Acting, you’ll need to have at least one social skill, but we can leave it alone for now.”
“Finally, you have Teaching, mhmm… It’s certainly curious seeing a child with that skill. One should learn before teaching others.” Virya smiled amused.
Glad to be an endless source of entertainment.
He had not missed how she had not asked why he had the Meditation skill as his highest or the Acting skill.
Probably she didn’t care. Whatever the reason, he was glad for it. No way he would be able to lie to her and he wasn’t planning on revealing his secret to anybody else.
“For now, we’ll focus on letting you advance to Orange as soon as possible." Her tone became more serious, any trace of amusement gone. “I hope you know I meant it, when I said I would accept nothing but your best, child. I don’t like wasting my time, I hope you won’t disappoint me.”
She had not raised her voice, but her burning gaze was enough to mark her words into his soul.
Saving his pride wasn’t the only reason not to fail; he didn’t want to see Virya angry, not even disappointed.
Seeing how the conversation was reaching its conclusion, Kai decided to speak.
“Can I ask a question?” His tone was more hesitant than he’d like.
“Yes, I can see part of your status. There are many ways and skills to read the status of another person. But before someone unlocks their Guide completely—which means fourteen for humans—your status is protected.
“It’s still possible to get a vague impression if you have a high enough skill, but it wouldn't be pleasant for either you or me to examine it.” She punctuated the last statement.
“I can see your skills, but not their level, or the value of your attributes. Skills are always easier to see than attributes.”
Kai had never been so sure she could read his mind.
With her explanation done, he was dismissed before he could add another word.
His new routine was about to begin. Too late to turn back now.
I’m sure it will be fine. The only path I have left is forward.