I had no idea giving him a nickname would come with so many added bonuses. I was a little surprised, but I wouldn’t put it past this crazy world.
My eyes immediately rushed to the words ‘telepathy,’ and the other notifications were pushed aside.
This isn’t a joke, right?! I really got telepathy from naming Hollow? If I’d known it was that easy the entire time, I would have done something about it sooner!! I tried grabbing the screen in excitement, and my claws phased through it. The system said it was because of another skill I got. What was it again?
{Masters Authority}
{Skill given to those who have been appointed the ruler of another being. Activating it will allow you to manipulate the growth and development of beings you have authority over}
That’s an insanely useful skill!! Doesn’t this basically mean I can control Hollow into evolving into anything I want? I stared at the screen and caught him in the corner of my eye, staring blankly at me. On second thought…Maybe I shouldn’t use this after all. It’s still his life; all I did was name him. It’s not like I own him or anything.
Just as I was about to read the next notification, I felt the sensation of a voice entering my mind. It was void of fullness, as if it came from under a mask of sorts.
“Master… Please… give an order.” It came subtly and left me with chills across my stone body.
Unlike the usual times I communicated through the Telepathy skill with Veyra, I could sense precisely who it was coming from this time. More than that, there was another level of depth to the link.
Unlike before, when I would simply broadcast my thoughts out and hope Veyra would pick up on them, I had to actively focus on sending my thoughts to the target in question. With that in mind, I decided to give my new skill, telepathy, a try.
(W-whoa, was that you, Hollow? Can you speak now?)
Hollow raised his head to meet my gaze and nodded gently in response. I got the feeling he could speak before, but chose not to. Asking felt like it would only make things awkward, so I decided against it.
(Why’re you calling me your master? All I did was free you? Besides, would you really be fine with serving someone like me?)
I honestly had no idea why Hollow had suddenly started acting like I was his master. If anything, he should have been a lot more suspicious of me, since I initially thought of killing him. Not that I really wanted to, but it was an option.
I waited for a response, and even Hollow seemed to be in two minds about what to say. His slightly rusted helm rose to meet my eyeline, and the subtle white glint of his eyes burned through the slits of the helm.
“Master…freed me. Your strength allowed… me to live.” The telepathy Hollow used almost reminded me of Veyra before she got better at it.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Just without the glitching effects. I’m sure that if he kept trying to communicate, he'd get better at it.
“I will…grow stronger.” Hollow brought his dainty sword up in front of him and planted it into the ground, blade faced downward. “At your side.”
If you go on like that, it’s impossible to say no! I fought the urge to turn away and caught a glimpse of Veyra’s wide-eyed stares.
She had no idea what we were talking about, since our telepathy only worked via one person, but I had the feeling she caught on to how things were going. Especially with Hollow’s strange actions. Her mouth hung open slightly, completely enthralled by what would happen next.
I still wasn’t entirely on board with the idea of having anyone under my command, but it didn’t seem too different from how things were now with Veyra. I wasn’t exactly happy with keeping another life out of danger, but I felt somewhat responsible for him now.
Wait, what if Hollow dies while we’re training? Isn’t he a lot weaker now that the Parasitic Rose isn’t controlling him anymore? With that thought, I looked over his status again with a closer eye.
{Hollow Lv12}
{Species: Armoured Hollow Spirit}
{Status: Minor Injuries}
{Specializes in physical combat, with affinity for element
Whoa, spirits actually seem quite suitable for combat with stats like that! I’m not sure about that affinity for shadow elements, though… I’ll have to investigate that at a later stage, but for now, what else can he do? Any skills I should know about?
As if responding to my questions, the system brought up a list of his skills, similar to how it would with my own skill tree.
Along with Hollow's level and status, I could see his skills and abilities. It looked like the system still couldn’t display his full status window, but I assume at a higher level, I’d be able to see them.
Skills:
{Straight Edge}
{Camouflage}
{Unyielding Stance}
I knew that at level twelve it wouldn’t be anything special, but only three skills were a little hard not to raise an eyebrow to. Well, if I had eyebrows.
It probably wasn’t fair to compare myself to others, especially since I was a strange case. My entire physical state was practically made for gathering skills and information, being made of Myranite and all. Still, having him so weak made things a little next to impossible for our current setup.
Almost everything in the ruins we’d encountered so far was more powerful than him. He’d be crushed by the first thing he went up against. Leveling was already much slower for Veyra since I had to contribute so much, but for Hollow, who probably wouldn’t be able to do much against these monsters, it’d take months…
Just before I took the chance to dread the thought, I brought up the descriptions of his skills. I brought up windows on each of them and started with the one that sounded the most useful, ‘Straight Edge’.
{Straight Edge}
{User hones their focus into a single movement. Boosts accuracy and damage}
Okay…not as amazing as I was hoping, but it sounds perfect for someone using a sword. We can definitely work with this! What’s next?
{Camouflage}
{Cloaks the user in elements of the nearby environment until they are partially invisible. Only usable when standing completely still}
Wouldn’t that be a better skill for Veyra to use? The fact that he has to stand still kind of brings down its usefulness, b-but I’m sure we can find a good time to break that one out! There’s still one skill left. I’m not expecting much here, but I have hope…
{Unyielding Stance}
{Passive skill that allows the user to survive a fatal attack with 1HP. Can only be used once a day}
…
Veyra brought her face a bit closer to mine to check if I was alright, “Atlas, are you…still thinking?” A tinge of worry hung over her words.
(Jackpot! Motherload! I’m so jealous– this skill is probably the most useful one I’ve come across yet!!) I practically screamed the thought out as I gawked at the information screen in front of me.
?