"I think we can safely discard Hungry Eyes?" ZEKE asked, to general affirmation from those present. Particularly Alarion. "Unless we plan to starve him, it is a pointless skill, and it would be absurd to try to build his skill set around such a niche condition."

"Doesn't that wipe away most of them?" Alarion asked. "All but the last one have a focus on conditions."

"True, but some are more flexible than others," ZEKE explained. "At first review, I lean toward the endurance power. It is simple, yet deceptively strong for a starting skill. If we have a healer ready, we could subject you to a number of serious-"

"Ezekiel!" Elena scolded.

"He'll encounter poison in the wild eventually," The Steelborn retorted without shame. "A moderate resistance from such a low-level skill is nothing to scoff at. What is the proverb? Faint heart never won fair lady?"

"He is a child, Ezekiel."

"Pah," ZEKE contested, "Even without more invasive measures, Survivor's Endurance might be the best of the lot. Survival of the Fittest would have combined well with poison-coated daggers, but-"

"Ezekiel seems to hold a grudge," Sierra idly commented as the two adults bickered.

"He does," Alarion chuckled, "I think he is more comfortable being obeyed unquestioningly. Did he train you, too?"

She shook her head. "He offered me several useful pointers when I came here to serve, including his suggestion to adopt a stealth skill, but my family trained me before my induction."

"So serving Dar is your form of military service?"

"The governor," Sierra corrected as she bristled at his informality. "Induction is not solely military. It is compulsory service, but it takes whatever form the state thinks is most appropriate. I served my first two years in fiend subjugation before I was picked to serve as equerry to the provisional governor."

Alarion looked at her askew. "But you're barely older than I am."

"Induction begins as young as twelve for those who have met their class levels." Sierra shrugged. "You have to understand, you might see it as a punishment, but it is not. I trained from a young age for an early induction, specifically to get a head start on those who do not. There is risk, certainly, but with risk comes growth and opportunity."

"We have narrowed it down," Elena's voice cut back into the conversation before Alarion could reply. Two of the windows, those containing Hungry Eyes and Survival of the Fittest, had been closed.

"Three is an easier number for you to pick from," Alarion agreed.

ZEKE crossed his arms as he gave Alarion a withering look. "We're not going to pick for you. Choosing your skills is an important step in your development."

"But you'll take two away?" Alarion replied dryly.

"Not all options are created equal. Some are simply wasted potential. If you have a keen need to hone your senses by starving yourself, you may," Elena retorted. "But if you are done being contrary for its own sake, you have three real options."

"Dimensional Bindle, Share the Pain, and Survivor's Endurance," Alarion rattled the names, each in turn. "Utility, Offense and Defense."

"That is a splendid way to think of the matter," ZEKE agreed, a note of pride in his voice.

"The Dimensional power has a garish name," Elena remarked. "And it is limiting in its own way. As with your questing power, most storage powers are locked out by the System once you already have one. Getting one early is good, but this one is extremely limited in cost and scope. If you can successfully increase its rarity, it would be a great boon, but pushing the limits of a storage power is notoriously difficult."

"Share the Pain seems less an offensive skill than a reaction one," Sierra contested, adding her thoughts and voice to the conversation. "Barring instances when he enters a fight with a condition already applied, it seems more about throwing the enemy's strength back in their face."

ZEKE shook his head. "No, it is certainly offensive. On its own, the power is so niche as to be useless in most encounters. It is only worth taking if he plans to aim for a complementary power or item later. If not, either of the alternatives would be preferable."

"True," Sierra replied, "What if he…"

Alarion slowly tuned out of the conversation, his eyes focused steadfastly on the skill descriptions before him. He read through each once more, carefully focusing on the nuances he might have missed the first time. The fact that the distance on [Share the Pain] appeared to be fixed, rather than something that increased with level, or that [Survivor's Endurance] would be more potent against any conditions that only had a single stage of severity, if such conditions existed.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Ultimately, though, the question was one of focus. What did he want to prioritize? And how much did he want this choice to shape his later ones?

ZEKE had rightly pointed out that [Share the Pain] needed to be used with other skills or items. To get any use out of it, Alarion would have to invest further resources, making the choice either wasteful or restrictive.

[Dimensional Bindle] had a similar problem, though to a lesser extent. Should he throw away a good storage power now for the hope of a greater storage power in the future? Or should he embrace the opportunity as it presented itself and work to grow and mold the power into something that best suited him? And was it a good idea to even consider a non-combat power when he seemed destined for battle?

Lastly, [Survivor's Endurance] gave him the staying power he currently lacked, but only when it came to debilitating conditions. If someone stabbed him, the power might mitigate the effect of a bleeding condition from the wound, but that would do nothing for the actual stab. He would probably need to build up his VIT just to endure the hypothetical training ZEKE had suggested. If his fights with the dragon had shown anything, it was that…

"Does it count the Void Arena?" Alarion abruptly asked.

Lost in their conversation, neither Elena nor ZEKE realized Alarion was speaking to them. Instead, it was Sierra who finally responded. "Does what count?"

"Do the conditions I survive in the Void Arena count toward the secondary effect for Survivor's Endurance?"

Brought out of their debate by Alarion's assertive question, both Elena and ZEKE appeared momentarily perplexed. ZEKE was motionless, his head slightly canted, while Elena's brows knit together. They exchanged a look, and it was Elena who broke the silence. "Would it?"

"I… hmm," ZEKE replied, "you receive notifications for them when you are in the Arena?"

"I do, yes," Alarion confirmed.

"I don't see why it… but…" The Steelborn paced, thumb and forefinger clinking off his chin as he tapped it repeatedly in thought.

The uncertainty was enough for Alarion.

Would you like to select Survivor's Endurance? This choice cannot be reversed. Yes/No?

Skill level increased. Survivor's Endurance is now Level 1. VIT+4.

Alarion probed the skill in his mind, hoping it might provide a detailed breakdown of things he was now especially resistant to instead of merely sort of resistant to. Sadly, his pressure only caused the skill's basic description to pop up repeatedly within his field of view. He'd need to find out some other way. If the skill carried over from his previous experiences, rather than starting fresh, then he'd be resistant to hunger, but that wouldn't tell him what he urgently wanted to know.

Burning and bleeding, he'd been subjected to both in volume within the Arena. There were no open flames in the courtyard, but there was a bladed instrument ready at hand. And a healer at their beck and call.

ZEKE was still pondering the metaphysical conundrum of conditions achieved in void space when Alarion drew the Shifting Imperial Greatsword from his belt and raked the miniature razor down the exposed length of his forearm with a slight yelp.

"Alarion!" Elena shouted, her eyes wide in horror.

The young man only smiled, turning the bloody gash toward the silent Steelborn who wordlessly looked upon the wound. Blood trickled down toward Alarion's elbow, then spattered onto the courtyard tiles.

But not nearly enough of it.

New Condition! Bleeding – Minor.

[Survivor's Endurance] has taken effect. The secondary effect of [Survivor's Endurance] has taken effect.

[Bleeding – Minor] has been resisted due to user's VIT score. Condition reduced to [Bleeding – Slight]

[Bleeding – Slight] – Lose 0.25% total HP per second.

"For Mother's sake," Elena complained. With a gesture, she sent Sierra to locate the healer, then quickly gathered a small pile of the cloth napkins from their earlier meal and pressed them into Alarion's good hand. "There were easier ways to test your theory. More sanitary ones as well."

"None that were nearly as quick," The young man retorted, wincing slightly as he put pressure on his wound. "Aren't we in more of a hurry now, due to politics?"

The older woman scowled, in no mood for him to have a point, let alone a rebuttal.

"We'll have to revise the training," ZEKE said, his voice almost gleeful at the prospect. "Which will unfortunately require more of your time, Mistress Elena. I can already think of half a hundred possible-"

"He is still a child, Ezekiel, that has not changed in the last few minutes. What you are talking about is torture."

"Simulated torture, at worst. The Void Arena mutes the worst memories within hours," Retorted ZEKE. "It will be as though it never happened, save for his newfound resistance."

"But it will happen to him. The experience does still happen." Elena was not sure if she was more perturbed at ZEKE's suggestions, or that Alarion's expressions showed he sided with his mentor. "You can not be serious."

Alarion did not answer immediately. Instead, he lingered, eyes downcast as he searched for the best way to argue his point. "Am I going to be sent somewhere safe? When I'm inducted, I mean."

"It is not likely," Elena replied, already sensing the through-line of his argument. "Perhaps a handful of the most common threats would be warranted, but dozens? That is too much."

"Would you leave power on the table? If you could grasp it?" Alarion asked her directly.

"If it meant being tortured? Even if I'd block out the details? Yes!"

A simple glimpse in Alarion's eyes was all it took to tell the fundamental difference between them. She would exchange power for comfort.

To someone who'd lived a life of terror and starvation, power and comfort were the same thing.

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