Syl-Chapter 256: Roleplay

With such a tantalizing skill on display, I wasted no time trying to purchase it. I was flooded with relief when the confirmation prompt popped up, as I was concerned I'd lack a prerequisite for it since I'd never gained [Acting] through a class revelation.

<Spend 1 Skill Point to upgrade [Acting] into [Roleplay]?>

Goodbye [Acting] and hello [Roleplay]! Yes!

<Skill [Acting LV 6] upgraded into [Roleplay LV 6]. Skill Points remaining: 15.>

"Damn, I can't get this skill," Vee complained. "I guess I need to get the weaker skill first to get it?"

"I believe so," I replied to Vee. "Although I'm not sure how much talking and deceiving you'd be doing."

"True enough, probably a waste of a skill point for me," Vee agreed. "At the moment, I can't even talk without your assistance."

That was, unfortunately, a sad truth. Initially, I withheld the [Telepathy (Lesser)] trait from Vee as I was concerned that she might betray me and reveal to the world that I was actually slim. Obviously, once our bond grew and we'd fought side by side, I knew I could trust her and presented her with the trait.

Vee was initially upset about being unable to take it but soon joked about "psychic spiders being extremely unrealistic anyway." While I was glad she could joke about it so quickly, I knew she was probably still disheartened about it.

If I find a way around my [Sub-Cores] turning off when disconnected, I could leave one for her to constantly use telepathy for her. Otherwise, maybe I can find a magic item that has the effect? I guess our best bet would be a dungeon in that case. Unless the elves know of something.

"Are you ready, Lady Sylthaeryn?" Paeris asked politely.

"Yes, thank you," I replied.

"Then, if you'd please follow me, we shall take our leave from the tree and head towards one of our designated hunting grounds."

I nodded, and after Vee jumped up, I began following after him. He explained that the hunting grounds were still within this grove's area of influence and, thus, quite strictly regulated. Outsiders couldn't get in, so it would be relatively safe from any prying eyes.

Along the way, he also gave me some tidbits of advice, all through the convenience of telepathy, to not alert anyone nearby. Effectively, I just needed to keep my mouth shut, as talking to just anybody would be seen as beneath my station.

At the same time, I began trying to see how [Roleplay] was different from [Acting]. The latter skill had often helped me in crucial situations where I'd almost forgotten about it, and I hoped the same could be said with its new form since it was a direct upgrade rather than a sidegrade skill.

One immediate difference that I easily recognized was that it had an optional and active component, unlike [Acting]. If my understanding of it was correct, I would activate the skill and be allowed to "choose a persona" to assume.

The way it felt gave me some flashbacks to the Doppelganger mutation evolution I had turned down, as I thought it would quite easily let me impersonate someone if I was fed enough information about them.

Which was a good way to explain the skill in layman's terms. You could assign a persona and then feed it mannerisms, information, and so forth, and it would help you recall how they behaved.

The more you put into each persona, the better equipped it would be and the better performance you could enact. Paeris even mentioned that the skill could even allow you to recall how you behaved around individuals and was considered a must-have! Using the skill in its entirety felt like having a live acting coach sitting on your shoulder and reminding you how to act in any situation.

This was clearly one of the reasons why they wanted me to take the skill, as now I had Paeris start feeding me a choreography of how Sylthaeryn used to behave and how I was expected to act.

On the positive side, I can feed it all my bits of information on how I acted as Sylvester and any other personas I create. Although I bet there's a lot of overlap between Sylvester and Syl, as I hadn't really thought of those small nuances that more intuitive people might notice. I was pretty much just hoping that my brute force, top-notch shapeshifting power combined with manipulating my identity would be more than enough.

Thankfully, Greg was the person Sylvester had spent the most time with, and he'd never met Syl, so he couldn't really correlate the two identities.

"Holy crap, is this a lift?" Vee asked abruptly, interrupting my thoughts.

Paeris led us to a room with a hollowed-out top and bottom and a platform in the middle. The platform was attached to thick living vines, and it was clear it could go up or down. Standing on it, Paeris requested we go to the ground floor, and the platform began rapidly descending.

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"This isn't that different from the pulley thing the dwarves had when we left the battlement," I replied.

"I guess?" Vee replied. "But that was nowhere as good as this. Plus, it's a dedicated room and unmanned unless you count the magic tree."

I shrugged, merely happy at the convenience of not needing to go up and down endless flights of stairs. Part of me was hoping the elves had teleportation setups so I could try to investigate a bit more now that I had [Dimension Magic].

If I didn't lose all my supplies, I'd start taking apart some of my dimensional bags—actually, maybe I could craft a storage crate and examine it that way. Then again, I might not learn anything, not to mention [Pocket Space] is the next spell. Probably better to focus on getting that debuff first and working towards unlocking a theoretical skill or trait to make handling coordinates easier.

We'd reached the bottom floor, and I continued to follow Paeris. A lot of space seemed to be going to waste, as the population was sparse, to say the least, if not for the plenty of plant-based creatures working away. I'd often found the crowds of the human cities a little oppressive, but seeing such a noticeable lack of casual civilians was another kind of disheartening.

I questioned Paeris about it, and he replied that this was a location specifically for the Feirelle branch and its close allies. This explained why the casual elf behaved in such an overbearing, reverent manner just by being in my presence.

My discomfort over such treatment was thankfully hidden behind [Roleplay]. Meanwhile, Vee, to my surprise, was basking in all the attention. I initially thought it was her laughing at my situation, but she felt pretty happy about being admired by the elves—she was a tier-five monster and seen as a symbol of power for the branch.

"You're doing very well so far, Lady Sylthaeryn," Paeris said. "Once you're feeling well, you can take trips to the communal groves and eventually even the capital. There, you will witness the majority of the elven population."

I nodded and looked forward to it.

Outside of the tree was far more rural than I was expecting, or at least that was my immediate assumption. But, as we continued walking, I realized that the entire "city" was contained in the massive giant tree, where now we were effectively wandering through the guard posts and farmlands.

I knew we'd found another Tamer when we spotted an elf alongside a panther. Paeris caught their attention and began to quiz them on their progress, claiming to be evaluating them for elevation within the branch.

It was awkward to see the elf willing to quite literally bend over backward while hopping on one foot if Paeris demanded it, but I held my tongue as advised.

As they conversed, I began wondering how Paeris would swing the topic of conversation to the skill I wanted. To my surprise, he brought it up rather masterfully.

"You and your companion's levels seem slightly lower than I expected," Paeris casually mentioned. "Have you not reached the maximum level of [Companion Growth], or is the bond with your companion lacking?"

"No sir, you are right," the man said in an apologetic tone. "I only very recently gained another level in the skill, and I'm afraid I'm quite far from reaching the maximum level. I can assure you my bond with Sasha is thriving."

Paeris merely raised an eyebrow, and the elf was practically stumbling over himself to prove his words true. Without even needing to be prompted, he displayed the skill for Paeris to inspect.

<[Companion Growth LV 9]

When earned experience is split between you and your [Bonded Companion], additional experience is generated to compensate for the loss and reduce the burden.

This additional experience is entirely separate from any other forms of experience sharing, such as party mechanics, and strictly only affects you and your [Bonded Companion].

The generated additional experience scales with skill level and bond level.>

I obviously wasted no time grabbing the skill for myself, only slightly lamenting the further dwindling of my now somewhat limited skill point pool.

<Skill [Companion Growth LV 1] obtained. Skill Points remaining: 14.>

Still, he has the skill at level nine, yet he treats it like it is the end of the world! What a strange culture.

"Good. Continue to prove your worth to the branch; we will be watching," Paeris said before strolling off, with me instinctually following behind him.

The elf thanked both of us profusely while bowing repeatedly. Even his panther companion bowed its head in an almost regal manner.

"I hope you're not expecting me to learn how to bow like that," Vee commented.

"No, I believe your position would be treated as my own based on how much they revere [Bonded Companions]. So you might as well consider yourself a spider princess."

"Awesome! I'll get to work on my giant poofy spider silk dress as soon as possible!" Vee teased with a hint of excitement.

"That's actually a pretty great idea," I responded.

"Oh," Vee replied, sounding a little startled. "I mean. I kind of already do that? I keep lots of threads wrapped around my body as a sort of armor. I don't think a dress would be that great for my spider form; I'm more likely to get tangled in it."

"Well, if they force me into a dress, I'd appreciate the extra layer of security. Assuming you are willing?"

"Oh sure, I mean, it gives me something to do with my free time. I've been enjoying leveling up these professional skills and whatnot; it seems like I get a lot of boosts thanks to my [Thread Mastery] and using all my own materials."

"We should request a class change so you can swap and get all your retroactively owed levels," I suggested. "I bet you'll break through to Weaver 40 instantly!"

Vee laughed and agreed; we were curious to see what she'd eventually unlock.

Eventually, we reached what seemed like a magically created perimeter. Paeris pointed out specific trees one by one and turning on [Soul Sight], I saw them blazing with a magical aura.

"This is the first boundary that prevents monsters from entering the grove," Paeris explained.

"Really? Cause Syl and I have no issue," Vee replied.

"[Bonded Companions] are immune to such restrictions, Miss Vee," he replied, causing Vee to giggle to herself. "And assuming you weren't a [Bonded Companion], it would never be able to stop a monster of your level."

"I'm just that awesome," Vee chuckled.

Paeris ignored her and continued talking: "Past this first barrier is what we call our regulated hunting grounds. Beyond that is a secondary banner that also doubles as an alarm system so that we can prevent unwanted intruders and be notified in case they are strong enough to ignore the warnings. For security reasons, we will strictly adhere between the two barriers."

I nodded in agreement.

Finally, I'm going to get some real food!