Chapter 78: Weapon Selection 3
My fingers hovered over the Status Window, a holographic screen that shimmered with faint blue light, displaying the very essence of the cadet standing before me. The numbers were a cold, hard fact, a perfect summary of her strengths and weaknesses. I raised an eyebrow, impressed by the glowing numbers before me. "Very nice." The words slipped out almost unconsciously, a genuine reaction to the raw talent I saw laid bare.
Her base stats were solid for her age: Strength and Stamina at a respectable 20, Magic at 25, hinting at a natural affinity for mana, and her IQ at a balanced 20. But what stood out, what truly made her a rare gem, were her Agility (38) and Speed (34). She was built for a quick, fluid style of combat, a natural-born hunter. It was no surprise she had already chosen a bow.
Her Concentration (B/S) skill was also a rare and powerful awakening for a cadet so early in training. It granted her an unnerving precision, an unwavering focus that could make or break a soldier in the heat of battle. It meant her arrows wouldn’t just fly true; they would find their mark with an almost supernatural certainty. The Sixth Sense (A) only compounded this, giving her a heightened awareness, an instinct for danger that would serve as her first line of defense. She could feel a threat before she could see it.
But that wasn’t what truly caught my attention. No, the real weight of her status window rested not on what had awakened, but on what had yet to awaken the hidden potential buried deep within her. It was something I had only ever seen in legends and ancient texts, an ability so rare it bordered on myth: Dual Characters.
A gift, a curse, a double-edged sword disguised as potential. The very essence of her soul was fractured, split into two distinct personas, each with their own set of skills and limitations. The shift between the two wasn’t something she could control yet. That was the danger. It was a ticking time bomb, a talent wrapped in chaos.
When her Character A was dominant, she was the epitome of a marksman. Her agility soared to an astonishing 38, making her quick and fluid, a ghost on the battlefield. Her Sense stat, a separate measure of perception, was an absurdly high 45, granting her a form of Clairvoyance (SS), a rare ability to perceive beyond normal limits. She wasn’t just a fast archer; she was a predator, capable of striking down enemies before they even realized where death had come from. In this form, she was a true hunter, a whisper of wind and a deadly arrow.
But the moment her mind fractured and realigned, she would become Character B, a brute-force warrior. Her Strength would surge to 38 and her Stamina would nearly double to 45. She would transform into a powerhouse, her body brimming with raw might and endurance. The trade-off was brutal. Her Mental stat would spike to a reckless 35, and her Sense stat would plummet to a paltry 20. She would be prone to frontal assaults, blind to subtle threats and ambushes. The finesse was gone, replaced by a raw, blunt instrument of destruction. She was a runaway freight train, a tidal wave of muscle and fury.
It was a terrifying gamble. One roll of the dice could make her the sharp-eyed hunter, a perfect ally in a skirmish. Another could turn her into a reckless berserker, blind to subtle threats and ambushes, a danger to herself and her allies. The versatility was wrapped in chaos, a ticking time bomb of a talent.
Still, her potential was staggering. Rarely had I seen a cadet with numbers this promising. With the right guidance, if she survived long enough to master herself, she could become one of the most formidable forces in the academy. If she could learn to stabilize her fractured personas, or better yet, create harmony between them, then the possibility existed that more personalities could emerge. New characters, new sets of stats, each suited to a different battlefield. An entire arsenal contained within a single human. It sounded impossible, but the way she was created, I suspected it was more than just a theory.
My lips curved into the faintest smile. "She’s one of the unbelievable ones." I had a feeling my role in this academy would be more interesting than I had originally thought.
The line of cadets ahead grew shorter as more students stepped forward, claiming their weapons of choice from the gleaming racks. Blades gleamed under the sunlight, each one a promise of glory. Spears stood tall like banners of resolve, wielded by those who favored discipline and formation. Wands pulsed faintly with gathered mana, chosen by mages who knew the power of a finely crafted focus.
The air carried the hum of ambition restless, electric. Every decision was more than preference; it was an identity. A sword wasn’t just a weapon, it was a declaration. A wand wasn’t just a tool, it was a path. Here, in this academy, choices forged futures, and a single misstep could shape or shatter destinies.
But my thoughts remained fixed on Octavia Blake. The academy was a crucible, burning away weakness until only steel remained. Most would be hammered into shape—swords, shields, spears, tools of war. But Octavia... she wasn’t steel waiting to be forged. She was a blade already tempered, hidden in a scabbard of uncertainty. And once unsheathed, I had no doubt the world would learn just how sharp she truly was. The question wasn’t if she would awaken her full potential, but when, and how much chaos she would cause in the process.
Status Window
Name: Octavia Blake
Strength: 20
Magic: 25
Speed: 34
Mental: 20
Agility: 38
IQ: 20
Stamina: 20
Charm: 32
Potential: 299 / 890
Skills
Concentration (B/S): Allows her to maintain unshakable focus in combat.
Sixth Sense (A): Heightened awareness, an instinct for danger.
Clairvoyance (SS): The rare ability to perceive beyond normal limits.
Character A
Strength: 20
Magic: 25
Speed: 34
Mental: 20
Agility: 38
IQ: 20
Stamina: 20
Charm: 32
Sense: 45
Character B
Strength: 38
Magic: 20
Speed: 34
Mental: 35
Agility: 20
IQ: 23
Stamina: 45
Charm: 32
Sense: 20