Only two days later, Weylan was sitting in his master’s office. The desk was filled with notes about his recent adventures. The blackboard at the wall was covered in a list of feats, that had been changed many times. Some had been hastily crossed out, others underlined for emphasis. Jago and Weylan were scrutinizing the list with a critical eye.

  “That’s still three times the number of options I had at your level,” Jago remarked, shaking his head in disbelief. “And trust me, my life has been neither easy nor dull. I still don’t know what some of those feats do.”

  Weylan sighed. “How about I just take those. If even you don’t know about them, they’re probably rare and powerful.”

  Jago groaned, straightening and fixing his apprentice with a withering glare. “Rare doesn’t necessarily mean better or more powerful. It just means the conditions to unlock them are unusual or require a specific class combination. Take Icy Armament for example. You unlock it by defeating a Level 5 monster using only weapons made entirely of ice. And what do you get? A talent for crafting and using weapons made of ice. That’s basically snowballs and clubs made of icicles. You’re better off with just using any normal weapon.” He stood up and looked at the blackboard. “I’m actually jealous of your Assassins Movement feat. That one’s just broken. You may never tell anyone how you got it. I know you hid a lot in your story about this speedrun, and it's fine with me. Never forget an assassin is allowed, no required, to have a few secrets. But if other assassins hear of that, we will lose half the guild in a week, since everyone will try to speedrun a dungeon and die.”

  Weylan whistled. “I knew it’s good, but is it that much better than other movement feats?”

  “It is a true temporal acceleration. Below Grandmaster tier, that’s unheard of.” He sighed. “Back to topic. It’s an almost unique chance to choose so many feats at once. But we also should not overthink it. We could plan and speculate for another week, but in the end, it’s your decision. I’m here to ensure you don’t choose something foolish.”

  “Like choosing Silent Movement?” Weylan asked, pointing to the entry on the blackboard.

  Silent Movement

  Move without making a sound, even on difficult terrain.

  Jago vigorously crossed out the entry. “Exactly. You get better in stealth by training the Stealth skill. Not by wasting a feat for it. That feat is just lazy. Instead, choose this one.” He pointed at another entry.

  Phantom Veil

  Temporarily blend into the surroundings, increasing stealth and evasion.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “That’s a fairly common, but useful feat. One I also have. It enables you to hide even in plain sight, without any cover. You have to move very slowly to maintain the effect, and it’s mentally draining, but it doesn’t use mana. Practical, reliable, and effective. There are similar feats that use shadows or magic, but this one doesn’t use your precious mana resources and also doesn't trigger wards against stealth spells.”

  Weylan nodded. That one had been on his own shortlist. He chose it and waited for the list to update. One new Option appeared.

  Phantom Shadow Veil

  Temporarily blend into the surroundings by creating shadows around you, greatly increasing stealth and evasion in dimly lit areas.

  Weylan copied the description onto the board. Jago leaned closer, squinting. “That one is rare, but known. You can move more, though still slowly, without losing cover. The cover is also much harder to pierce, even with specialized scouting skills. It costs mana and, frankly, if you need a feat to stay hidden in dim light, you’re a sorry excuse for an assassin.” He crossed it out with a decisive swipe.

  Weylan agreed, then returned his attention back to the blackboard. He skipped the whole categories for poison and trap related skills. He’d use a skill for disarming traps and a lot of caution and common sense for using poisons. He pointed at one he liked.

  Shadow Burst

  Unleash a surge of concentrated shadow energy, enveloping the area in impenetrable darkness for a short duration, obscuring vision and disorienting those within.

  Jago groaned, throwing his hands up. “For Pallandur’s sake, what is wrong with you kids and dramatic effects? It happens every bloody time I discuss feat choices with an apprentice. Just when I think they understood, they come up with Blinding Flare, Inky Cloud, Smoke Bomb or the One Woman Rave. You buy a bloody smoke bomb, that’s what you do. Every single feat should enhance your abilities in a way potions and alchemical bombs can’t. I do allow a bit of leeway in case of things that need an artefact, since those are hard to get. And spells are out of reach for most assassins. But since you seem to be able to learn spells… We should include magical and casting related feats.”

  Weylan dutifully called up his choices again and groaned: “There’s dozens of feats in that area. I can’t make heads or tails of them.”

  His master rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “We’d need to consult a master magician.”

  “I know someone at the local academy, a mage called Hephtagan. He’s nice.”

  Steward Jago sighed. “You can’t trust him with your class. I actually know Magister Hephtagan. He is honest, but his allegiance is to the Mages Guild. The existence of an assassin inside the city, in an official posting near the baron… He’d have to report that. And I would prefer not to have to kill the kind old man. No, we can’t use anyone from Mulnirsheim.” He paused to contemplate the problem. “You know, just leave the last two slots open. In an emergency, you may choose anything you desperately need that’s on our shortlist and anything that contains assassin in its name or uses shadow magic.”

  Weylan perked up. “What if I went to a mage university? You think I could study there?”

  Jago’s lips curled into a wry smile. “You’d benefit immensely from it. Proper spellcasting and mana management could elevate your abilities. I’ll make arrangements for you to spend some time at one of the kingdom’s mage academies. And yes, you can bring your team. A healer, especially, would gain a lot from professional training.”

  Weylan’s face lit up like the victory tree at the yearly Necromancer War Victory Celebration.

  Jago’s smile grew knowing. “Before you pack your bags for academia, I have a new assignment for you. Something a bit more... pressing. Can you arrange a meeting with your whole team for tonight?”