As other rebels began gathering their things and preparing to leave, Pax couldn’t wait to examine and equip his new prize. Around him, he saw his friends doing the same, fancy scrolls appearing in their hands from their inventories.

  As Pax read the scroll to learn the new skill, he was even more grateful it wasn’t a mage one. He’d just regained two precious slots by merging his three mana skills into one. Too bad his status as light mage didn’t give him more skill slots like it did with his spell ones.

  As the scroll crumbled to dust in his hands, Pax read the description with eager interest.

  ***

  General Skill Unlocked: Map of Knowledge Level 1

  This rare active skill reveals nearby friends and foes within a limited range, providing insight into their locations and relative positions. As this skill levels up, its range, accuracy, and cooldown will improve. Map of Knowledge may fail if a foe uses a cloaking ability or if they are significantly higher in level than the skill of the user.

  Distance: up to 15 yards.

  Duration: 1 minute.

  Cooldown: 30 seconds after skill lapses.

  Mana cost: Minimal to moderate mana that increases with distance scanned from user.

  ***

  A triumphant smile spread across Pax’s face. He looked around and realized this was the perfect opportunity to test out the skill. They’d be leaving as soon as those in charge got everyone mobilized. He wouldn’t want to use the Map skill for the first time out in the Wilds when things got dicey or mana was tight.

  Right now, he was safe and mostly topped up with mana. Plus, he still had both of his extra mana storages. He’d filled the mirror on his shield in no time, but had only managed to fill his gem a quarter full after nearly draining it.

  Still, the mana costs for the Map shouldn’t be bad, according to the description. And the quicker he leveled it up, the faster he could boost the distance it would work. Pax could already see the advantages of being able to scout their vicinity for any attackers nearby.

  He could almost imagine the surprise on the ambushers’ faces when he and his friends uncovered them before they could strike. This was the perfect skill for them as they headed off to war, and he planned to use it to its full potential.

  Pax closed his eyes to minimize distractions and then used the barest amount of mana to activate the skill. Information flooded into his mind full of a torrent of colors that made a sudden headache pulse behind his eyes.

  Maybe using it in a crowded cavern wasn’t the best first test of the skill. He should have waited to practice in an empty room with only a person or two nearby instead of this horde. At least the limited mana he’d invested into the skill restricted the information to a yard or two from him instead of the full fifteen.

  Committed now, Pax focused on parsing what the skill dumped on him. It took a few seconds, but he quickly found his mental balance. He’d trained his brain to handle large influxes of information from his Extrasensory Sphere and a liberal application of Haste, both of which helped him now.

  Falling back on his trained habits, Pax eased a trickle of mana into his Haste and let his attention relax and take in the information as a whole before trying to parse out individual elements. In his mind’s eye, filling the center of his vision, a semi-transparent circle had formed. A mix of colors, predominantly green with an occasional splash of yellow filled it.

  As Haste slowed time, it allowed him to better analyze what he was seeing. He noticed that the colors weren’t just strewn across the circle of Map vision. Focusing more closely, he made out discrete dots. There were just so many of them that they overlapped each other, appearing as solid splotches of color. The more he focused, the more he distinguished them from each other.

  It quickly became clear that each dot represented a person or companion in his immediate vicinity. Obviously, the green colors, being close to him and covering the majority of the area, had to represent his allies, the friends the skill promised to show him.

  But what did the yellow dots represent? He zeroed in on a cluster of three in the upper left of the map’s circle. The first order of business was to figure out how to link the dots to specific people in the world around him.

  A few seconds of testing made it clear how his Map related to the world around him. Thankfully, it was relatively intuitive. As he slowly turned his head, the map rotated at the same speed.

  He surmised that the top of the circle represented the area directly in front of him. Once he had the trio of yellow dots at the top of the circle, he let go of his Haste, opened his eyes and looked to see who they were.

  His vision immediately swam, the cluttered details of the Map superimposed over the busy chaos of the surrounding area. Total mistake.

  Pax closed his eyes again and exercised the mental muscles he’d used in the past to adjust how his menu displayed in the past. It took a bit of effort and testing, but he managed to shrink the circle after accidentally making it go in the opposite direction and get even bigger. Then he moved it up to the top center of his field of view, just in front of his forehead.

  Opening his eyes again, this time much more slowly to allow his vision and mind to adjust, Pax felt a lot more stable. He looked through the crowd for individuals who might represent the yellow dots.

  Part of him wondered if yellow color represented the foes the skill promised to reveal. He felt a thrill of excitement at the idea of using the skill to ferret out spies or enemies in their midst.

  Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

  After a couple of tentative steps forward, Pax flicked his attention back to the map in the top of his vision and only stopped when he stood directly in front of the trio of yellow dots.

  “Need something?” a burly warrior asked, noticing his approach and looking at him with raised brows. Two of his friends stood to either side of him, the three obviously together.

  “Um, not necessarily?” Pax wasn’t sure what to say next. How would you ask someone if they were a spy? Not only would it be insulting if they weren’t, but it wasn’t like a spy would readily admit it.

  “Hey, you’re the mage kid who’s been helping everyone, right?” The warrior suddenly looked a lot more friendly.

  Pax was taken aback, unsure if he should be flattered or insulted by the term. “If you mean the mage who brought Taming and extra elements to the rebels, then yes, that’s me.”

  The demeanor of the group changed immediately. The first warrior’s grin broadened as he extended his hand, radiating an easy confidence. “Name’s Bram,” he said, his voice warm and steady. He was tall and powerfully built, with a square jaw and dark, shaggy hair. His scuffed armor bore the marks of many battles making Pax glad he was on their side.

  Gesturing to his companions, Bram introduced them with a nod. “This is Nila, our archer.” He motioned to the woman on his right.

  She was slender, wearing worn leather armor too and offered Pax a friendly wave.

  “And Kyren, our crafter.” Bram turned his thumb to point to the tall, lean mage on his left.

  Kyren had a slightly disheveled look, with silver-streaked hair that hung over intense blue eyes that currently had a thankful look in them.

  “We’re all grateful for what you’ve done, truly.” Bram’s tone was sincere as he held out his hand and shook Pax’s hand with a firm grip. “We’re all up for getting companions soon, and have seen how much you’ve done for the mages in our crew. Those Taming skills and extra elements have made a world of difference for the entire rebellion. I can’t tell you how many of us owe you one—or two, or three.”

  Nila’s face softened as she spoke up, her eyes glinting with genuine appreciation. “It’s rare these days to find someone who’ll step up and help without looking to gain from it. You’ve made us all rethink what’s possible out here.”

  Kyren nodded along, his voice calm and even. “We’re very glad to have you on our side. With everything you’ve brought us, we might actually have a chance at winning this thing instead of just throwing our lives away a little sooner than expected.”

  The gratitude in their words and expressions softened some of Pax’s tension.

  “Did you need help with something before we get out of here?” Bram threw a quick glance toward the exit where the large doors were opening slowly to reveal the dim shadows of the canyon outside, still dark in the early dawn light.

  Pax hesitated and took another quick look at his Map. To his surprise their three dots were now green, the same color as most of the others around him, including all his friends. “No.” He shook his head, resolving to discuss the matter with the rest of his crew who had to be doing their own experiments now. “Just getting a little stir crazy to finally get out of here.”

  “Well, Vitur go with you and yours.” Bram and his friends tipped their heads respectfully toward him. “And we’ll hopefully run into you again soon, or at least one of the others you’ve taught the Taming skill to.”

  “Vitur make it so.” Pax grinned at them before heading back to his friends.

  He found them with their heads bent together in quiet discussion. He joined them. “What have you figured out about your new Maps? Those three back there were yellow dots until I talked to them and they introduced themselves. Then they turned green on the Map.”

  “They changed to green?” Amil’s brows went up. “We were just figuring out the yellows were people we didn’t know.”

  “So, that means yellow must be the color for unknowns.” Rin looked thoughtful. “And then once we gain knowledge about whether they are friend or foe, the color changes. I’m assuming if someone is actively hostile toward us, their color will turn from yellow to red or something similar.”

  Pax nodded, her logic making sense. “So, what the Map tells us about people’s relationship to us is based only on what we know, not what is actually the truth?”

  The others took a few moments to contemplate his words.

  “We’ll definitely need to do more testing. As for what color the Map shows enemies as, we should be able to test that on the first beasts we run into out there.” Tyrodon tipped his head toward the now open doors. “Since the companions around us are showing up with their own green and yellow dots on my Map, I assume beasts trying to kill us will show up too, though they might not turn red or a danger color until they actually attack.”

  Pax’s nodded thoughtfully at the deduction. Tasar clapped Tyrodon on the back and gave him an approving look.

  “Wait.” Bryn frowned. “Does that mean we won’t be able to tell whether it’s people or beasts waiting to attack us? And we won’t know if they’re friend or foe unless we’ve met them before?”

  Rin nodded, her brow furrowing. “Maybe this skill isn’t as amazing as I was thinking.”

  Tasar scoffed. “To see the unseen during battle is worth its weight in gold, regardless of the limitations.”

  Pax shrugged, forced to agree. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not a little sad we can’t walk through this crowd and point out traitors as they pop up on our Maps.”

  “I thought our people with Interrogate skills were supposed to screen for those?” Dahni gave the now-milling crowd a suspicious look.

  Now it was Rin’s turn to scoff. “And no one has ever figured out how to beat an Interrogator before?” Her eyes made an exaggerated flick toward Pax.

  “Oh, yeah.” Dahni let out a sheepish laugh. “Then, I guess the most valuable use of our Maps will be to warn us of anyone nearby, whether they’re planning to attack or not.”

  “It’s already amazing at only level 1.” Bryn looked very pleased with her reward. “And who knows? Maybe some of its limitations will be resolved at higher levels. Even a way to distinguish people from beasts would be amazing.”

  Her idea lifted the mood immediately, and Pax turned to give the two managers a grateful look. “Make sure to let the other two know how grateful we are for all your work helping us complete this part of the quest before we moved out. It’s going to make a big difference in keeping us alive out there.”

  Solani grinned while Magesecond Fenix plastered on a benevolent look as if he’d done all the work himself.

  “Are you sure both of you want to come with us?” Pax had to ask. “None of us know if we’ll survive, and it’s much safer here in the base.”

  “Not forever.” Fenix suddenly looked both disheartened and pragmatic. “If the rebellion loses out there, it won’t be long before the empire comes to raze this place. Though I’ve fought the idea ever since I met you, it’s finally become clear that you and your friends are truly our best chance at survival. So, we’re coming. Both of us. Solani 4-five and Fenix 3-one will stay here and keep things running.”

  “Besides,” Solani 2-nine said with a cheerful voice. “Without me along, who did you think would be dispensing the rewards for the final parts of your quest?”

  The rest of the crew turned to stare at her. Pax couldn’t believe he’d never thought about the logistics of getting the rewards promised them. He thought it would work by the same unknown process that Vitur used to reward points and levels. But it made sense that as one of the quest givers, Solani 2-nine might need to be nearby to give them the final rewards.

  Amil reacted first. With a hearty grin, he gave her an extravagant bow. “Please let me be the first to welcome you to our crew, Solani 2-nine and Magesecond Fenix. May Vitur guide us all.”

  The others quickly chimed in with the similar words only to be interrupted by a sharp bark for attention from Titus who stood a few yards away with Incedis and Eldan. The mishmash of crews making up their platoon quieted and gave him their attention.

  When Incedis saw them all looking, he cleared his throat and spoke, “Form up and follow me. It’s our turn to line up and move out.”