No such thing as coincidence

"[Status]."

...

Conditions:

[Contact with a follower of the **** *** **'**** 1/10]

Confirming that he had recovered, Tom quickly got out of bed having slept all night in the overly-luxurious sickbed at the church. Although a few priests and nuns tried to stop Tom on the way out, he excused his action with his status as a [saint] to quickly shut up any opposition.

""Ah.""

Exiting the church Tom came face to face with Dan and Aura who were apparently on their way to visit.

"H-hey, where are you going?"

Attempting (and failing) to not be awkward after all the things she learned the day before, Aura seemed to try even more than usual to hide her face under her large hat. Seeing how his long time friend acted, Dan quickly figured he should be the one to explain.

"I- No, we figured that you would make a really good teammate and a good friend too. Being a saint or whatever won't change that, but I want you to trust us a bit more going forward."

Judging the look in Dan's eyes as sincere, Tom's face bloomed into a smile as he decided to take Dan up on his suggestion to trust him and Aura more.

"In that case let's go somewhere a bit more private, I've some important information to share."

Moving to a back alley without any prying eyes or ears, Tom told Aura and Dan about his new condition and its effects.

"... That follower or whatever can only be one monster, right?"

Also remembering the monster that had worn extensive amounts of [catalysts] and amulets, Aura felt her entire body shake.

"Yeah, which means there's a good chance you guys have that condition as well, have you checked your [status] recently?"

At Tom's suggestion, both Aura and Dan briefly closed their eyes to presumily check their [status].

"... I don't have it."

"Yeah, me neither."

(So did I get it just because I'm a [saint]?... No, there was no mention of that being the case. But it might be hidden from Aura and Dan.)

"I think it might be hidden for you both, can I take a look?"

"Eh? Take a look?"

While Aura didn't seem to get what Tom was getting at, Dan seemed to have understood Tom judging by how conflicted he looked.

"Of course, you can have a written copy of my [status] as a return. I'm not asking just because of that condition, I believe there are other things I can help with."

What Tom was asking of Dan was a lot. A person's [status] was something deeply personal, but it was also important for adventurers to trust the people they put their lives on the line.

"Okay then, go ahead and check out my [status]."

Taking Dan's extended hand, Tom closed his eyes to focus.

([Status].)

[REQUEST NOTED, DOWNLOAD DATA Y/N?]

(Yes.)

Once more hearing the strange voice inside his head, Tom felt a rush of information flood into his mind.

Dan

Title: None

Race: Human / Mixed

Age: 20

Vitality: 325/325

Strength: 52/52

Dexterity: 231/231

Agility: 165/165

Intelligence: 102/102

Luck: 7

Mana: 531/531

Skills:

[Pain resistance 1/10] [Fine motor control 6/10] [Strengthening 4/10] [Combat awareness 3/10] [Mana control 1/10] [Swordsmanship: sword of the one 3/10]

Magic affinity: Fire

Conditions:

[Contact with a follower of the **** *** **'**** 1/10] [Follower of a saint -/-]

(So he does not only have one unseen condition but two… Let's see what this second one is about.)

[FOLLOWER OF A SAINT-/- ALLOWS 'SAINT' TO BESTOW A 'BLESSING' ON A TARGET.]

Coming across an unknown term, Tom made the mistake of thinking about it, thus activating the condition itself. Before they both knew what was going on, Dan and Tom felt a light shock as the strange voice sounded out in Tom's head.

[TARGET BLESSED, TITLE(S) ADDED AND SKILL(S) IMPROVED.]

"Wait what?"

Not understanding what had just happened, Tom let go of Dan's hand as Dan felt a rush of power build-up in his own body, checking his [status] he quickly confirmed that he had not only gained a title while a few of his [skill's] had levelled up multiple times.

"... Would you look at that…"

Clutching his hand Dan was filled with sheer exhilaration as he felt he had finally broken through a barrier that had blocked his improvement for the last few months.

"You should do this too Aura."

"W-what? Why?"

Understandably not thrusting whatever had just happened to her childhood friend, Aura drew away from him and Tom before she noticed the look in Dan's eyes.

"F-fine! Come on, let's do this!"

Snatching Tom's hand as her tail swung from side to side in a highly unsatisfied manner, Aura nearly drilled a hole in Tom's head with her stare alone.

"[Status]."

[REQUEST NOTED, DOWNLOAD DATA Y/N?]

"Yes."

Closing his eyes to concentrate on the mass of information flowing into his head, Tom could clearly still feel Aura's near hostile glare on him.

Aura Zephyr

Title: None

Race: Beastkin

Age: 22

Vitality: 123/123

Strength: 19/19

Dexterity: 56/56

Agility: 96/96

Intelligence: 302/302

Luck: 9

Mana: 10.491/10.491

Magic affinity: Zephyr

Skills:

[Combat awareness 1/10] [Mana control 4/10] [Zephyr 7/10] [Cooking 3/10] [Pain resistance 1/10]

Conditions:

[Contact with a follower of the **** *** **'**** 1/10] [Follower of a saint -/-]

Although this was the first time Tom had found someone else with a unique magic affinity, he wasn't about to pry into it on account of Aura's poor mood and reluctance.

[TARGET BLESSED, TITLE(S) ADDED, APTITUDE ADJUSTED AND SKILL(S) IMPROVED.]

Even when he was aware of the process, Tom blessed Aura before he even realized it, Aura on the other hand hurriedly pried Tom's hand off as she felt like her body rapidly started to heat up. Although this sudden heat only lasted a few seconds and soon started to calm down, the only thing that stopped Aura from attacking Tom was the amazement she was struck with when she viewed her own [status]. Quelling her own anger Aura realized why Dan had been so insistent and vague, if he had straight up told her that holding Tom's hand for a few seconds would level up her skills, aptitudes and give her a title, Aura would have questioned Dan's sanity. Desperately attempting to regain her pride, Aura took hold of the situation by returning it to its origin.

"So we all have that condition, in that case, why don't we go hunting before it expires?"

Putting aside how it would impact Dan and Aura when his [skill] stated that it would only improve a [saint]'s growth, Tom remembered how Lizzy had acted when he had told her about the monster they encountered.

"... I don't think that's a good idea, but I have another way for us to train. You're going to love it Dan, plus there's free food."

"Really? Then let's go!"

"F-free food? I suppose we can do that."

Baiting in both Dan and Aura, Tom had a wry smile on his face as he imagined what would eventually happen when the two of them met with Lizzy again.

-

"Come on kids, put in a little more effort!~"

With a large smile on her face, Lizzy's massive claw made out of ice passed through where Dan's throat had just been a split second before. A second later Lizzy seemed to disappear before she reappeared right in front of Dan, paring his sword with her claws, Lizzy first broke his guard before sending the poor guy flying with a kick.

"Gua!-"

After dispatching the swordsman, Lizzy's eyes settled on the poor mage he had been guarding, as Lizzy's eyes settled on Aura, a chill immediately went up Aura's spine as Lizzy once more disappeared from sight.

"Hiii!"

Realizing a fury of wind blades in response to the overwhelming amount of bloodlust she was subjected to, Aura succeeded in only making herself an easier target to Lizzy who had already worked around her flank. Sizing on the opportunity available to her, Lizzy moved in for the kill but was blocked by her favourite disciple before she could get too close.

"Aw, come on kiddo, let me have some fun!~"

Switching her attention to Tom, Lizzy approached and pursued her prey without a hint of mercy. Targeting Tom's joints and neck, Lizzy aimed to first debilitate or maim her dear disciple before finishing him off, but her attacks somehow didn't find their mark in any satisfactory manner.

"Your definition of fun is way too screwed!"

It was only due to Tom's outstanding mitigation of Lizzy's attacks that Tom was still alive, by shifting around gravity, creating localized fields of heightened and lessened gravity which was far outside the level of anything lethal, Tom consistently messed with Lizzy's sense of balance and kept her from using her full power. Of course, Tom's interference only amounted to little more than a slight annoyance for Lizzy who long since had adjusted to her disciple's style of combat, but that slight edge was all Tom needed to at least keep up with Lizzy while gradually wearing down.

"Aura, anytime now!"

As bruises and small cuts started mounting, Tom patience gradually wore down as he ducked down underneath one of Lizzy's claws as he poured mana into his [catalyst] and body before shifting to the side out of the way of another claw. Blocking another claw from gouging out his eyes, Tom's sight briefly went dark as he was kicked in the chest and sent flying as Aura finally fired off her prepared spell that Lizzy of course avoided with ease before quickly dispatching the small mage. Regaining his senses, Tom remarkably stuck his landing as Lizzy let up her relentless attacks.

"Okay that should be enough for today, get some rest for tomorrow, especially you kiddo, I expect you to perform at the tournament so be a bit more mindful of your spacing. Aura you need to work on your cast time and calm, right now you're actively detrimental to your allies when fighting an intelligent foe. Dan, same as always you need to work on your footwork and defence, we're doing the same tomorrow without Tom so I'll teach your more carefully then."

Lighting up a smoke and brushing off some of the dust which had accumulated on her coat, Lizzy cracked her neck with an audible crack before she wandered off in search of someplace quiet and in the shade where she could dodge her responsibilities for the rest of the day.

"Are you okay Tom?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Aura, what about you Dan? Still alive?"

With Tom's tournament only a day away now, Lizzy had gone comparably light on her precious disciple, but the rest couldn't be said about his friends.

"Ark!- Y-yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm still alive…"

Coming back to life with a cough, Dan barely managed to sit up before giving up on the idea for the moment as a particular small healer started tending to his wounds.

"Stay still."

"Sure, I don't really have an option not to at the moment…"

While Dan had gotten the shit beaten out of him quite badly, the combat experience he had gained in just a few days at the academy under Lizzy's tutorage was well worth it, the experience combined with his recent blessing was worth years of high-intensity live combat.

(Hopefully, I'll never meet someone as terrifying as Lizzy in a real fight…)