Walker of Illusion…
The first step in my unprecedented path, something new, but at the same time, it gave an ancient vibe.
After waking up and checking on my first two quests, the first thing I did was put the excessive amount of clothes in my new and miraculous inventory and then make a beeline for the communal bathroom. After that night, I really smelled like shit.
However, when I got out of the showers and checked myself in the mirror, there were multiple things that didn't add up.
I was still 6'7" tall, or so it seemed, but I was a skeleton with skin clothes no more.
I had muscles!
Still a very much lithe figure, but muscles!!
Then I looked at my face and my eyes bulged.
"System, show me my race."
When someone is bound to the system, in rare cases, such as some of the main families, that someone looses the human trait.
The path of the flood for example, makes you a hybrid merperson/human.
The path of prosperity makes you some kind of elf and some of its branches even make you a beastperson.
But I had no clue what had happened to me.
[Ancient high human]
"The fuck? You mean to tell me that humans had this pointy but short ears and long hair in the past?"
There was nothing I could do, this new ears and the extended length of my hair were now mine to bear.
Should I just say I always had these ears and fake it? Nobody will believe it's a mutation due to the system anyway.
Mind clear, fresh body, clothes clearly not meant for someone of my status and to the town hall we go.
There wasn't much else I could do anyway, better surrender myself to prison for the remaining weeks before the academies actually started.
Hey, free food, lodgings and facilities! Sure I'd be constantly watched… but free food!
I also new exactly what academy I wanted to join and thanks to the help of a certain someone I would have no problems joining.
Zero, nada, Noppers at all.
Also, the Cidatel felt kinda boring and the a school to study love… it's just not necessary.
So I packed the rest of my things and walked away.
*************
"Name, path or sub-path?"
Damn, I love their laziness.
"Crow, Disorder."
For a second the air stilled between us, the civil servant rose his eyes slowly and stared at me like I was an alien.
"Funny boy, don't joke around. No way in hell you're from disorder with those ears, out with it."
As soon as he accused me, I faked the bestest offended young master look I could muster.
"HOW DARE YOU!?"
"…"
"I'll have you know I was born with these beautiful ears, and I really belong to the path of Disorder."
"It's just… you don't have a last name, crearly you don't belong to the main family."
"What do we know? I am an orphan, far all we know, I might be an illegitimate child forgotten out there."
He looked at me, confused, but slightly more convinced and a weird sense of fulfilment rose in my chest.
I really do have a taste for lies. Eheheh.
"Fine, but we will need someone from Disorder to verify, do you… of course you have no connections."
I do, but I don't know anything beside his taste.
"Wait here, I'll call for someone."
Ohh they really have a way to check.
What was the inherent mana of Disorder? Or maybe they will check something else…?
Whatever they wanted to check I was sure I would eventually find a way to fake it.
Maybe I should have gone with the Shifters, but in the early stages their eyes change color every couple of hours.
The wait didn't take long at all, given the reputation of Disorder I was slightly shocked, but considering Aaron had disappeared in this town, maybe there were plenty of people already stationed here.
"Well, hello there pointy ears!"
"I was born this way ba… mister."
"… sure, let's go have a private chat and see if you're a little too ambitious of a liar or if you're really family."
The man in front of me was slightly taller than Aaron, but still shorter than me. With purple hair and eyes he was looking at me with clear mischief in mind.
I smirked.
Yes, this was the right path to take.
We walked a little and reached an interrogation cell, at least that's what it looked like.
Inside only a table and two chairs.
"Before we begin, that's a runecraft tablet."
He pointed at a stone slab that I clearly hadn't even seen.
"It will serve its purpose later, for now let's confirm your story, shall we?"
A glint appeared sharply in his eyes and I knew for sure that the bastard was using some type of spell to recognise lies.
They may call it path of Disorder, but those drunkhards had better way to recognise someone bullshitting than those from Law. They were a bunch of liars of their own after all.
So I started.
"Orphan, don't know shit about my parents, last night I pretended to be someone's affair partner and ended up making out with them the whole night, kinda productive if I say so myself."
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! That's the right attitude for someone belonging to disorder alright!"
I knew it! Bless you Aaron!
"Let's just do the test, if you really belong with us, there are a lot of things you'll need to recuperate on."
"Like food and drinks?!"
"OH MY GOD, THAT'S THE BEST ANSWER."
I looked at him a little dumbfounded.
"Not many know this, it is kind of an open secret, since everyone knows we like to drink, but alcohol is a big part of our cultivation. If you belong with us, make the connection with the first rune you received."
"Ohhh"
I ooohed without any idea of why, but it seemed the right thing to do, I will take whatever freebies are there for the taking.
"Speaking of runes, take the tablet and will it to show the rune, imagine drawing it with your mana and the judgement will be done."
"Just like that?"
"You really are an orphan uh? Inherited runes are different from general runes: the rune for Fire from the path of the Sun is very much not the same for the general rune of fire."
Oh, that makes a lot of sense.
I took the tablet and started to think hard of the rune of confusion. Seeing how it probably came from Aaron -I wasn't really sure, I needed more experimenting- I believed it was the real deal.
Slowly my green mana started to flow into the tablet and draw the rune in beautiful arcs, but the result was purple mana glowing.
Is this the inherent Error mana?
Sure enough the drawing was done.
A beautiful purple rune that emanated a sense of distortion glowed faintly on the stone tablet.
"I'll be damned, I thought I could have some fun breaking you for lying, but you really are a Walker of Confusion."
What?