Nyes was led out the back of the Cathedral and down a couple of hallways to the novitiate dorms. He didnt really pay any attention to any of it, lost in his own thoughts as he was. He was let into a seemingly random room where Thedroe told him "Rest for a bit. It may help calm your mind. Nyes slumped onto the cot and cried himself to sleep.

  He woke up sometime later, having no clue how long he'd been asleep and looked around. The room wasn't much more than a cot, a chair, and a small table to eat or read at. Apparently novitiates lived fairly austere lives despite the opulence of the rest of the Cathedral.

  He had awoken with a pain reminding him he hadn't eaten today. He'd been too excited that morning and the events of the day had kept him too distracted to eat. He poked his head out the door. "Hello?"

  No response. Well, that's alright. It felt like the middle of the night but surely he could find a bite to eat if he poked about long enough. Moving quietly down the hall he passed several other dorms, a few with the sounds of snores in them. He wandered along until he found himself back near the main area of the Cathedral. He heard voices that sounded like they were trying to be quiet.

  Curious, and hopeful that it was someone who could point him toward the kitchens, he went ahead. When he got close enough he heard something that made him freeze in his tracks.

  "Keep it down you imbeciles. Any of the priesthood comes in before we're done and we'll have to kill them. Arns, go make sure this trash didn't draw any attention."

  Nyes's blood turned to ice. He heard someone approaching the hallway with heavy steps. Knowing panic would see him dead he cast his eyes about, looking for a place to hide. He leaned on the wall to flatten his profile between two smallest pillars when he heard a faint click.

  The wall pulled inward and he stumbled into a hidden alcove. He must have accidentally hit a hidden switch! He quickly pushed the wall back into place, thankful that the mechanism was quiet. Someone wanted this place to remain hidden.

  He heard steps go by outside and keep going. He nearly fainted in relief. With no imminent threat of death, he took a moment to look around the alcove he'd found himself in. It was small, round, and about two meters in diameter. There was a little switch next to the door he'd entered through, one on the opposite side of the wall, and a small stone bench. Maybe this was a way for priests to enter the Grand Cathedral without being seen? Or a private place to give counsel? He had no time to ponder.

  If he figured correctly, the other switch would open a door just behind the tapestry hanging from Halcis's outstretched hands. Maybe he should stay put until morning?

  No! He heard people talking about murdering priests for Heaven's sake. He should at least listen and see if he could figure out who these people were. Firming his resolve, he pushed the switch. Thankfully tthis door opened just as quietly as the other had and he heard the people again.

  "Nothing in the halls milord." This voice was deep and slow. Like that of a giant.

  "Good. We're nearly ready. Keep this idiot still while I get into place." This voice was light and regal, and brimming with arrogance. He sounded like the kind of guy you wanted to punch within the first minute of meeting him. Nyes decided to call him Lord Snootley.

  Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

  There was a metallic click and something began to hum. He could feel the hairs on his arms stand. Feeling a bit more brave, he decided to try and get a peek at whatever was going on.

  He pushed the door open gently as the hum grew slowly. He heard a few footsteps, but no one approached his location so he slipped out and to the edge of the tapestry. In the middle of the Cathedral there was a man tied to a large metal ring like contraption. He was directly behind the skill stone. In front of the skill stone were a couple of men fussing about a strange device. They were turning little knobs on the sides of a metal box with a round pipe coming from it. Between the pipe and the box was a large mana crystal that was slowly getting brighter and changing color to match that of the skill stone.

  "We're ready now milord." one of the men at the device said.

  About three meters behind the the captive there was what could only be a noble, and if Nyes had to guess this was Lord Snootley.

  "Finally. Let's get this done. Honestly, I don't know why the gods deign to bless gutter trash like this such powerful skills. When you're ready Silas." Off to the side was a massive man I black leathers. He was easily the largest man Nyes had ever seen at 2.4 meters and probably the owner of that deep voice. Nyes named him Nope because he never wanted to tangle with a man who looked like bears warned their cubs about HIM.

  Nyes risked peeking out a bit further to see the poor man tied up. Unless he was mistaken, this was one of the others who underwent awakenings with him today. He'd gotten the rare skill Mimic. It allowed the user to copy the skills of others for a time to varying effect based on perks.

  The boy was obviously furious. He was straining at his bonds for all he was worth and screaming so hard into his gag that his veins were visible. Right as "Silas" pushed the final switch and the hum grew louder the man thrashed hard. Hard enough to have torn something, but also hard enough to make the metal ring he was attached to tilt backwards.

  The following events felt like they took an hour to finish but probablyoccurred over less than 2 seconds in reality. The noble jumped out of the way as the captive began falling toward him, landing behind a pew.The mana crystal flashed and sent a beam of light out the metal tube. The beam went through the skill stone and into the poor captive even as he fell.

  The beam of light seemed to suck something vital out of the captive as it went through him. It came out the other side of him and he seemed to deflate, but where the beam would have then struck the noble there was only empty space. Nyes couldn't really appreciate that fact as the beam kept traveling in a straight line..... directly into him.

  He fell back into the hidden alcove as, for the second time that day, he heard a voice in his head. Skill-Mimic gained. °**□*

  He knew he had seconds to act. He reached up and pushed the switch to close the door and sat still as a corpse. The sounds of metal clanging and a panicked shout reached him even though the closed stone door. Like this Nyes sat until his rear went numb from sitting on the stone floor.

  He stood up and opened his status for the first time since getting his blasted skill, both terrified and hopeful of what he'd find.

  PERSONAL STATUS

  Level: 2

  Strength: 16

  Dexterity: 14

  Constitution: 16

  Wisdom: 8

  Intelligence: 10

  Charisma: 12

  Free Points: 6

  Skills

  Advancement

  Mimic

  Blessings

  The level proved it. You only gained a level when you gained a new skill or reached a skill level divisible by 25, all the way up to 100. 4 statements for the first level and 2 for every level after that.

  Nyes closed his Status and continued to stand there, stunned. He was ecstatic that he had another skill, but devastated that it had likely taken the life of some poor innocent for him to acquire it. He finally sat on the little stone bench and tried to process all that had happened on this strange day as he waited to make sure the people in the Cathedral were well and truly gone.