Chapter 5: A Form-Tier Conversation

The soldiers who had surrounded Zishan did not lower their weapons even after realizing he wore the same uniform as they did. They were at war, after all. Anything could happen, and there was certainly no shortage of wolves in sheep’s clothing.

After all, in a war, things were rarely as simple as black and white.

Considering that he had just come sprinting out of the enemy camp with what might as well have been half of its soldiers behind him, Zishan supposed their suspicion was not entirely unreasonable. Still, understanding why they were suspicious did not make the spear pointed directly at his face any more comforting.

The man standing in front of the group wore heavier armor than the others, with several scratches running across the dark metal and dried blood staining one side of his shoulder. He had the expression of someone who had already spent far too many hours, or even days, on the battlefield and was probably not interested in adding Zishan’s nonsense to the list of problems he had to deal with.

"Identify yourself," the man said.

’My name? I know my name, of course! I’m not a stupid baboon!’

[Still a Baboon, Dumb Host.]

’DAMN YOU!’

Unfortunately, his name was almost everything he knew about himself in this world. He had no idea which unit he belonged to, what social status he held, how long the original Zishan Walker had been fighting in this war, or why the poor bastard had ended up on the battlefield in the first place.

For all he knew, saying his name could make the soldiers lower their weapons. Or perhaps it could make them raise even more weapons and bury him alive somewhere nobody would ever find him.

His imagination immediately began working against him.

’Wait... What if this body... What if this body belonged to some kind of criminal who killed one of their soldiers and stole his uniform?’

[The System finds the Dumb Host’s imagination unnecessarily pessimistic.]

Zishan’s eyebrow twitched.

’I wasn’t talking to you.’

[The Dumb Host was thinking loudly.]

’How the fuck do you think loudly?!’

Before the System could come up with another insult, a greenish panel suddenly expanded across his vision.

[EMERGENCY QUEST]

[Escape This Predicament!]

[Objective: Resolve the current suspicion and avoid being detained, attacked, or identified as a hostile infiltrator.]

[Completion Possibility: 78.46%]

[Rewards: +5 PER; Appraisal (Form-Tier Skill)]

[PRECEDENCE AVAILABLE]

[Claim Rewards Before Completion?]

[YES / NO]

Zishan stared at the reward because he was certain he had misunderstood something. His eyes remained fixed on Form-Tier Skill for several seconds before slowly narrowing.

Rift Steps had been Trace-Tier.

He had nearly been skewered, burned alive, shot, trampled, and chased by enough armed soldiers to fill a small army before he finally earned that Skill permanently. That Quest had given him a completion possibility of barely more than three percent while he was already running through an enemy camp without even understanding what Mana was.

This time, the System wanted him to get out of a suspicious conversation with several armed men, and somehow, it was offering him something called a Form-Tier Skill.

’System, is Form higher than Trace?’

[Correct.]

’How much higher?’

[Skill Tiers: Trace → Script → Form → Grandform → Masterwork → Sovereign → Dominion → Imperial.]

[Imperial is the highest Tier currently recognized in this world, in case the Dumb Host was wondering.]

Zishan silently counted the first three.

Trace. Script. Form.

His expression slowly changed. ’WAIT! FORM IS TWO TIERS ABOVE RIFT STEPS?!’

[Correct.]

’AND YOU’RE GIVING IT TO ME FOR GETTING OUT OF THIS?!’

[The Dumb Host has not yet completed the Quest. And as always, the Dumb Host proves himself dumb.]

Zishan almost rolled his eyes. ’THAT IS NOT THE PART I’M QUESTIONING! LOOKS LIKE I’M NOT THE STUPID ONE HERE!’

He compared the two Quests again and became increasingly offended by the difference. ’So I almost died more times than I can count for Rift Steps, and now you’re offering me something two Tiers higher just because these people don’t trust me?!’

[Quest rewards are determined by the circumstances, consequences, difficulty, and recognized value of successful completion.]

Zishan stared at the panel for a moment. ’That sounded like a lot of words for "I do whatever the fuck I want."’

[The Dumb Host may refuse the Quest reward. Besides, the Dumb Host has already received a Bloodline Reward and one Skill.]

He immediately coughed lightly. ’Ahem! Nobody said anything about refusing! Maybe it actually makes sense that the reward is higher, no? After all, the man in front of me might be much stronger than those soldiers chasing me earlier. Maybe that’s it. Perhaps this situation is actually more dangerous than it looks. Also, there was the bloodline, so it makes sense. Certainly makes sense.’

[The Dumb Host has demonstrated an approximately 0.000005% improvement in judgment.]

His expression darkened.

’Fuck you.’

His attention returned to the choice floating in front of him. There was absolutely no reason to hesitate. ’Who the fuck would say no to this broken ability anyway?’

He mentally chose YES.

[ADVANCE CLAIM CONFIRMED]

[Processing Quest Rewards...]

’Come on! Give it to me!’

[+5 PER]

[Skill Acquired: Appraisal]

[Tier: Form]

The change came so quickly that Zishan almost thought someone had struck him again.

His eyes widened slightly as the battlefield around him sharpened in ways that were difficult to explain. Nothing had physically moved closer, yet details he had barely noticed before became strangely obvious.

He could see tiny fractures along the edge of the spearhead pointed at him, the dried mud caught between the armored man’s boots, and even the shallow rise and fall of another soldier’s shoulders as the man watched him carefully.

Then, his eyes shifted toward the soldier nearest him.

Something was hanging from his nose.

’...Ew.’

A booger.

’Why did my Perception have to improve enough to see that?!’

Even the soldiers farther behind the armored man became easier to keep track of without Zishan consciously shifting his attention between them. It was not as though his eyesight had suddenly become superhuman. Rather, his mind seemed much better at receiving and processing everything his senses were already giving it.

’So that’s Perception...’

[The Dumb Host has successfully identified an obvious Stat increase.]

’You really can’t let me have anything, can you?’ Zishan sounded tired, listening to the System’s constant insults.

Before he could continue arguing, another sensation spread through his mind. This one was completely different.

Knowledge appeared where there had been none before.

Zishan suddenly understood how to focus on a person or object and activate the Form-Tier Skill, Appraisal. He knew how to direct his attention toward a target and draw information from it, and the knowledge felt so strangely natural that it was almost as if he had known how to use the Skill all along.

Then, something much deeper settled over that knowledge.

Something familiar.

The Perfected Glimpse.

’Ohhhhh...’

Zishan could feel the difference immediately. He did not simply know how to activate the Skill. For as long as the Quest remained active, an impossible understanding sat over the Skill, showing him how deeply to probe, how much focus to use, how to control what he was searching for, and how to interpret whatever information came back with precision far beyond anything he had actually earned.

It reminded him of Rift Steps, except Appraisal worked through perception and thought instead of forcing his body to perform movements it was nowhere near ready for.

At least, somehow, this one was less likely to send him crashing into another pile of crates.

His mouth slowly curled upward. ’This is so fucking cool. It’s like I’m in a game or in an adventure and system-genre anime.’

[The Dumb Host is reminded that the rewards are provisional.]

’Just let me enjoy things! Tch!’

The armored man stepped closer, apparently having reached the limit of how long he was willing to watch Zishan stand there making different expressions at absolutely nothing. "I asked you to identify yourself."

"Yes, yes, I heard you," Zishan replied dismissively.

He finally focused on the man and considered whether lying would improve his chances, but another problem immediately presented itself. How was he supposed to invent a convincing background when he did not even know the names of the armies currently fighting each other?

’Yeah... Maybe lying isn’t exactly the smartest thing I can do right now.’

"Such disrespect!" a soldier behind the armored man suddenly snapped. "Let me teach this soldier a lesson for you—"

"What are you, a lapdog?" Zishan cut him off. "Shut your mouth when the adults are talking, kid. Tch."

"YOU’RE ONE TO TALK!"

Zishan ignored him the way an old man would ignore a child throwing a tantrum. When the soldier angrily reached for his sword, the armored man blocked him with one arm.

"You are not needed in this conversation. Step back. I will handle this myself."

The soldier immediately stiffened.

Zishan almost smiled. ’HAHAHA! Even his owner told him to sit down!’

Unfortunately, enjoying someone else’s humiliation did not solve his current problem. He still needed to identify himself, and his name remained the safest answer because it was also the only thing he actually knew.

’Honesty is the best policy. I mean... at least I’m technically being honest!’

"Zishan Walker," he finally said.

The armored man’s expression did not change immediately, although one of the soldiers standing several steps behind him seemed to recognize the name.

"Zishan Walker?"

Zishan glanced toward him. "Yes. Are you deaf? Or do you want me to pick another one?"

The armored man ignored the comment and motioned toward a younger soldier carrying a narrow metal plate along his forearm. "Check the field roster."

That was enough to make Zishan nervous again.

’Oh, fuck.’

The younger soldier touched two fingers against the plate, causing pale symbols to spread across its surface in several rows. Zishan could not read any of them from where he stood, which left him with nothing to do except wait and hope that the person who had originally owned this body actually existed in whatever records these people used.

And more importantly, he must be on their freaking side! Otherwise, it’d be another ride for him! And he didn’t want any more of what he just experienced on the battlefield!

His heartbeat began speeding up again as the soldier continued searching for his name in their so-called field roster.

’Please be real. Just please be fucking real.’