6 Endless Possibilities (Part 3)

Haldun grunted as he peered over the crowd to look at who had spoken. "By my beard! Taeven? Is that you?"

"Mm," Taeven said as everyone turned to look at him.

"When did he get here?" Eol heard Laurie asking the person next to her.

'That's what I'd like to know!' Eol thought as he studied the blue-skinned elf as he stood up. 'He definitely wasn't there when I came in, and I didn't notice anyone else entering after us.'

"Please, ask away." Haldun nodded happily.

"Eol, is it?" Taeven asked as he squinted at him. "What are your goals in life? I mean, what is it you really want to do?"

Eol noticed the interested expressions the other trainers wore as they gave him curious looks. "I like making items. So I was planning on becoming a merchant, maybe? I've yet to find out if I can learn the necessary trades. But I'd like to learn as many as I can."

Taeven nodded while wearing a thoughtful expression. However, some trainers who had made him an offer groaned at his answer, including Laurie.

"Ok... then I'll volunteer."

Haldun had a fit of coughing at Taeven's declaration. "Uhm, in that case. Eol, your final offer comes from Taeven. A sea elf swashbuckler."

"Hey, I'm Taeven. Tael's older brother." As he paused, Eol studied his short blonde hair and green eyes. Nodding at the resemblance. "I'm a swashbuckler. I serve as the first mate on the navy ship, Endeavor. If you choose to learn my class from me, then I should warn you. It's considered an advanced class due to the requirements to earn it. You'll learn to dual-wield one-handed weapons. The swashbuckler class comes with benefits when traveling on a vessel. Although we fight in close combat, we rely on speed, reflexes, and the ability to think on our feet to turn any situation to our favor."

"So a high mind stat is essential. We work well solo or in a group. As for your interest in trades..." Taeven paused. "I can recommend you to the Naval Academy in the capital. You could take the Quartermaster course there, which teaches different trades. You'll also learn necessary naval skills and gain practical experience. You'll enroll in the Navy for three years, starting from the first day at the academy. So, you'll have a steady job and income, learn the skills you want, earn an advanced class, and get to see a bit of the world. Not a bad deal, right?"

Taeven chuckled as he finished his pitch before sitting back down. 'Damn! That's a lot of benefits!' Eol struggled to contain his excitement at the offer. 'He's the only one who asked about my goals and offered a job that matches them! The only bad thing about it is serving in the Empire's Navy for three years. I won't have a choice, and I'll have to obey orders even if I disagree with them.' Eol rubbed his chin as he weighed the pros and cons.

'But none of the others gave me this much information. They stuck to their class and mentioned benefits. Which means there are probably drawbacks to their job offers too.'

Haldun chuckled from his side. "It seems like you've made up your mind. Write it down on this piece of paper, and I'll let your chosen trainer know once we've finished the interviews."

Eol raised his eyebrows as he took a sheet of paper from Haldun and a quill. Haldun sighed when he saw Eol's answer as he passed the paper and quill back to him. "Ok, you can return to the training hall now. Ask Tael to send the next candidate along."

Eol nodded as he got to his feet. "Thank you for your consideration."

He bowed slightly to the trainers before quickly and quietly vacating the room. It was only then that he realized his hands were shaking. 'I guess that was more intense than I realized.' He couldn't help but smile at how well things had turned out.

"I think I did quite well," Eol said softly to himself, as he walked down the hallways back into the main training hall. His elation began to fade away as he considered what would happen later.

The other trainers would surely be upset over not being chosen. And his classmates who may not receive any offers might feel bitter towards him for being offered an advanced one. A small part of him hoped one of them wouldn't take it badly and make a scene. But it looked like he'd need to watch his step carefully from now on.

When Eol arrived, all his classmates were still working on their skills under Tael's guidance. It didn't take long for Tael to notice him.

"They're ready for the next one?" She asked with a pleasant smile.

"Yes, you can send the next one along."

"Ok, Dojun, you're up," Tael called him over to give him directions to the interview room as Eol gaped at him.

'Dojun managed to create a skill? Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised.' Eol sighed as he returned to his training dummy.

"So, what class did you choose?" Tael asked as she appeared next to him while wearing a curious smile.

Eol chuckled from the slight scare she gave him. "Actually, I chose to learn my class from your brother."

"That's great news!" Tael beamed as she clapped her hands. "I wasn't sure if he'd turn up after I let him know there was a pioneer he'd be interested in."

"Wait, you asked him to come?"

"Of course, I thought it couldn't hurt after our conversations. I knew about the Quartermaster Course at the Naval Academy and your interest in learning trades. I thought it was a good match, and knowing my brother, if you caught his interest, he'd ask the right questions and make you an offer."

Eol sighed, but he found it hard to be mad at her. He didn't like feeling as though he had been manipulated, but he had to admit it worked out to his benefit.

"Right," Tael said as she clapped her hands again. "If you're going to be learning from Taeven, you should start using two weapons. That way, you can get a bit of a feel for it before your first lesson with him. Don't go picking up another sword, either."

Tael frowned as Eol reached for another sword. "Pick up one of the daggers. That's what he'll train you with. A sword and dagger."

Eol frowned slightly but did as instructed. He felt lopsided since the training sword in his right hand was heavier than the wooden dagger in his left. But he could tell his attack speed would be greatly improved by having two weapons. Although his balance might suffer more, which worried him a little.

"You should imagine the dummy as a person who is attacking you. Imagine a sword being swung at you and how you would react." Tael said with a serious expression. "Practice fighting this opponent for a bit before attempting to create a body skill. Get used to how you have to move."

Eol raised his eyebrows as he studied the dummy. At first, he stood side on to the dummy with the sword facing it. However, that felt wrong. His left arm and dagger felt like they would be useless like that. Eol changed his stance to have the dagger in front of him with the sword hanging out and low to his right side. 'Why does this feel right?'

He took a deep breath as his eyes narrowed. Eol imagined the dummy doing an overhead swing with a sword at him. That was when something clicked in his mind. He didn't understand what was happening, even though his mind showed him several possibilities. His left hand shot up, and using the dagger, he met the sword just above his head. His body weight shifted onto his back foot as he guided the imaginary blade away to his left side.

He pivoted on his back foot to keep his eyes on the false sword as the momentum brought his right arm up to slash the dummy with his sword! 'What the heck was that?' Eol panted as Tael clapped loudly beside him.

Eol looked at the wooden dummy and found himself grinning from ear to ear. He had no idea how he did it, but his body felt light and agile like he could run forever. He wanted to test his new abilities immediately but thought better of rushing himself without learning how to control them properly first.

"Tael, what just happened?" Eol asked as his heartbeat slowed down.

"You just experienced your Mind and Body stats working together to overcome a threat." She replied. "This is something every pioneer has to get used to. It's a bit different for everyone since their stats values will usually be different. But you should be able to think about the way you want to fight during a battle. The more you train yourself to use your Mind stat, the more you'll find yourself thinking in that fashion naturally. Your instincts will guide you in combat. The Mind stat can only show you paths you can take, but it's up to you what you do."

Eol nodded as he considered her words. 'That's... insane. It shows how valuable the Mind stat can be. But I could feel it. There were other paths that didn't reveal themselves. Is my Mind stat not high enough to see them? Or could it have been my Body stat that was the issue? It only makes sense that if my body can't keep up with my mind, I'd be unable to take certain actions.'

"Well, go on and do some practice on the dummy now. You have a lot to learn today," Tael said with a smile.

Eol returned the smile and continued practicing. It was a strange sensation as he imagined different scenarios. After a while, he tried putting himself into imperfect situations. Where the attack came from his exposed side, or he was off balance when an attack came.

It thrilled him to discover that there appeared to be an answer to every situation he could come up with. Sweat dripped from his brow as he paused his training to look around. He noticed many of his classmates were using skills they had created while others were practicing fighting, like him.

After a few minutes of catching his breath, Eol began again. He focused more on attacking rather than defending and soon realized how much more effective it made him feel. Eol found it hard to believe how quickly he could move once he got used to it. It felt almost natural after a short time. As long as he kept moving forward, Eol felt confident he could handle anything thrown at him. Even though he knew he might make mistakes along the way.

Tael soon stopped the class for lunch. As everyone filed into the common room, Eol sat down next to Dojun and Rokuko to eat with them.

"You're doing well," Dojun told him as he reached out to grab some food. "I'm surprised that you can move like that already."

"I know, right?" Eol said happily as he watched some of the others fill their plates. "It seems to be because of Mind stat. I think it's the key to endless possibilities, both in combat and out of it."

"Hmph, so that's it?" Dojun replied with a grunt. "I thought it was strange I couldn't do something similar. My Body stat seems pretty high."

"How high is it?" Eol asked out of curiosity before he could stop himself. "Sorry, I don't mean to pry."

"It's fine." Dojun waved a meaty hand in the air. "My Body stat is at thirty-five."

Eol's hand paused mid-air as he reached for some bread during Dojun's statement. 'That's... what? That's ten points higher than my Mind stat! What are his other stats like?'