James Jones was Darius' fourth apprentice. Unlike the other four who were dazzling existences that displayed great power and charisma, James was the opposite. He was the most silent and cryptic of the lot, hardly ever speaking.
Even his fellow apprentices would often forget his presence with them, only noticing him alter to their shock. This was an ability James had been honing ever since he had awoken, his 'Shroud'.
James' had much to do with his past. Ash was a Noble's son from birth, and Reina was the spoiled young miss of the McNickles household in Andrato. Even Anthony was a prodigy of the Sage Monkey Clan.
Only Jonathan and James were average orphans from the same orphanage. Jonathan and James had adapted differently to their circumstances. Jonathan had been bullied and then snapped, deciding to use his lanky nature to oppress others and get what he wanted.
He beat up the older and stronger kids to get his way, and relished in the feeling of having power. As such, he adopted the stance of being aggressive and overbearing towards his foes, and he desired power so he could never be suppressed again.
James rather accepted all bullying and beating in silence. Soon, the bullies got tired of dealing with him since he had nothing to offer and didn't react much, only wearing that creepy smile.
Eventually, people began to ignore him as they thought of him as a wimpy introvert. It was then that James was enlightened, that instead of seeking power and forcing others to obey his will to prevent harm, he could just fade away from the sight and cognition of people to achieve the same goal.
As such, he began practicing from way back then to become inconspicuous, and realized the general methods to make himself as such. In fact, if he hadn't taken the initiative to step forth when they were selecting candidates to be groomed under Darius, he might have gone unnoticed.
James entered the first battle room and smiled. The first wave of monsters came out, but they soon rushed to a halt as they gazed around in confusion.
Errr… where is everyone?
They milled about in confusion, scratching their heads in dismay. However, one of their kin was suddenly pierced by a dagger coated in darkness energy, instantly and silently reaping its life.
Its compatriots were unaware of this as James' darkness energy devoured the entire corpse and turned it into his sustenance. His eye glowed with a nefarious black light as he calmly walked behind another monster and executed it.
While these level 1 monsters were far too weak to increase his power substantially, the meat of a mosquito was still meat. Soon, James made short work of the entire wave, not a single monster noticing his presence or his actions right up until the end.
Soon, the second wave of level 2 monsters rushed out, but reacted the same as those who came before, completely unable to detect his presence. James was not surprised by this as he went on his harvesting spree.
There were only two people he had met in his entire life that pierced through the veil in which he cloaked himself with ease, leaving him bare and open to the worlds' forces.
The serpentine hazel eyes of his master Darius, which seemed to have forced James out of hiding when he had first gazed upon him.
The heavy green eyes of Gunner weighed like a mountain on one's back whenever he focused that intense gaze on you. Even if he was in hiding, the pressure forced him to come out and kneel before the mighty Half-Giant.
Just remembering them gaze James a heavy feeling in his chest. The combination of yellow and green were like whips lashing at his back, disturbing his mental state and forcing him out of his Shroud.
Finally, able to see their target, the level 2 monsters screeched and rushed at James. The lad sighed with lament at his own weakness and directly engaged them in combat. Since he had fought many times against Gunner as such, he was used to fighting in the open.
By the time he cleared the fifth wave and entered the second res station, James was frowning heavily as he found it almost impossible to reactivate his Shroud. The eyes of his mentors continually seemed to strike him out of it, becoming a hurdle at achieving his perfectly invisible state.
James sat on a bet and entered a meditative position. First, he had to understand why this was happening and at this crucial time. He had begun working on this shroud ever since he had awoken magically, and it had only been growing stronger and stronger as James brought it to perfection.
Just when he was on the cusp of completion, this obstacle had appeared. He was literally at 99.9% in terms of perfecting his ability, but now the goal of 100% seemed as if it was locked across a wide chasm which he could never hope to cross.
James could only open his eyes and murmur with frustration. It seemed like he would not be able to perfect his technique unless he could overcome the mental block that he had created for himself due to the special encounter he had with his two mentors.
This was nothing something he could achieve easily, but James had faith that he could break this limitation. Once he did, not even Darius or Gunner would ever be able to drag him out of his Shroud, even if they could see him.
Martin also made sure to update the lad's character sheet in the cloud, adding some comments to it.
[Name: James Jones
Race: Human
Class: Mage
Subclass: Multi-Elementalist
HP: 1,886/1,886 (1,800)
MP: 1,260/1,260 (1,200)
STA: 820/820 (800)
Level: 20
Strength: 46 (45)
Agility: 51 (39)
Endurance: 41 (40)
Intellect: 63 (60)
Charisma: 5 (7)
Luck: 35 (35)
P-Status: Healthy
M-Status: Hopeful
Affection: Worship lvl 3
Notes: Target has almost completed their own self-created unranked ability 'Shroud', a special technique that might prove to be unique on Fallon. Increasing Talent and Potential grades to S.]
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