A sudden important reminder popped itself into my head as we made our way in the guildâs direction.
ăYou think leveling up Thought Isolation might be a good idea seeing as how weâre about to have to talk to the Guildmaster?ă
ïŒNn. Sounds good since still level 1.ïŒ
ăYeah, but there kinda is a problem. Iunno how heâll react to us suddenly having the skill at a decent level.ă
If I was him Iâd think it pretty sketchy for us to suddenly have something thatâd stop him from reading our minds.
ïŒAlready too late. Identity as intellegent weapon already exposed.ïŒ
ăHmm. Is it really too late?ă
ïŒNn. Justification, can just say used Masterâs ability. Master just that amazing.ïŒ
ăSeriously?ă
ïŒNn. Since Intelligent Weapon.ïŒ
You know, now that I think about it, I might actually be pretty awesome. The fact that I knew about the Divine Blades had always made me think of myself as an inferior good. I mean, I at least had enough confidence to think if Iâd be targeted if people found out about me, but that was pretty much it. Reflecting on it from a more logical standpoint made me actually seem rather desirable, as Intelligent Weapons were better than Magic Swords, but not as good as Divine Blades.
In other words, the fact that I was an intelligent weapon could actually be used as a pretty decent arbitrary excuse for when we wanted to just bullshit through things. People wouldnât really find it odd because of how strange Intelligent Weapons were in the first place.
ăTrue true.ă
Eh, yeah, I was convinced that there werenât any detriments to actually going through with it, so I used up 18 of my self evolution points and just flat out maxed the skill.
ăThought Isolation has reached its maximum level. It has evolved into the the Perfect Thought Isolation skill.ă
Oh shit! The skill evolved? Sweet, Perfect Thought Isolation sounds hella awesome. Mind reading? Induced Thought? Come at me bro, I got this. The best part about the skill was that I could adjust the extent to which I blocked my thoughts out. I could use it to mess with people that could read minds by only allowing them to read specific thoughts.
ïŒOther skills, what to do?ïŒ
ăWould probably be better for us to just hold onto them for now and think things through a bit more carefully first.ă
I had a limited number of points, so itâd be best for me to be a bit more prudent in their use.
ăLetâs think carefully about how we want to use them.ă
ïŒNn. Got it.ïŒ
I was thinking of leveling up the Divine Sword Arts skill myself, but I didnât really mind relinquishing the points to some other skill if Fran wanted to, seeing as how she was the one that was going to be using them and all.
That was especially true because of the fact that she was more creative than me. She came up with some pretty interesting stuff back when we were fighting Rynford, so I was really looking forward to seeing what sheâd be able to think of and pull off in the future.
***
Erza stopped just a bit before we arrived at the guild.
ăHmph. Itâs started getting really crowded. Everyoneâs in our way.ă
There were a lot more people here than there were where we were a few minutes ago. To make matters worse, they werenât just walking along or anything either. Theyâd all gathered up in a crowd, which in turn made it more difficult for us to get through them.
ăYou think something happened?ă
ăErza. Something happened?ă
ăIt seems like a bunch of high ranking foreign nobles have just arrived in town. Theyâre here to watch the Martial Arts Tournament because itâs coming up soon. Itâs just going to keep getting worse from here on out because weâll be getting a huge influx of nobles and adventurers. Everything always gets really crowded around this time of year. Itâs Ulmuttâs busiest season.ă
Ohhhhh. So the nobles are taking up basically the whole road and making everyone else sit off to the side while they do? I guess that means itâs kinda like, but not as bad as the old Japanese Daimyo stuff they used to do; everyone here has to just sit and wait until theyâre through.
ăI think we should just take the high road from here.ă
ăGot it.ă
I looked down on the crowd from Franâs back as she leapt onto the rooftop
In doing so, I saw the most extravagant looking carriage Iâd ever seen since reincarnating. The wooden lion stuck on its roof looked so real that could honestly see it coming to life at any given moment. Its body was crafted of a lustrous ebony, and its ornaments a gaudy mix of gold and silver. Much to my surprise, its near excessive decorations didnât make it look vulgar or over the top, but instead caused it to give off an elegant air.
Even a single glance was enough for me to tell that they werenât just your everyday low end nobles.
The only thing I didnât get was why they had so few escorts. Their carriage looked like something thatâd normally be accompanied by dozens of guards.
I actually couldnât believe that it was totally exposed to danger save for the coachman and the pair of guards that stood to its left and right. It wasnât even a part of a caravan or anything like that either. I knew that we were in a in town right now and all that, but still, werenât the people inside of the damn thing being you know, a bit too careless?
Or so I thought⊠until I observed the coachman and the carriageâs two guards in more detail.
ăDamn, they look strong.ă
Just looking at the way they carried themselves made me intuitively realize that they were extremely capable.
ăHmmm, I should be able to get away with it if I do it right nowâŠă
I wanted to appraise all three of the people outside the carriage, but Fran was moving too quickly, and made it so I was only capable of appraising one of the two guards.
ăWhaaaa?ă
ïŒMaster. Problem?ïŒ
ăNothing really important. Just that carriageâs guard is hella stronk.ă
I knew heâd be strong, but Iâd never been expecting him to be that strong.
Shit, heâs an A ranked adventurer, and an evolved beastkin too. He was just as strong as Amanda. Were the other two like that too? I guess that explains their lack of other guards. They literally donât need them. Actually, having three people that strong is already just flat out excessive. The three of them would honestly probably be able to just totally roll the entire city of Ulmutt all on their own.
Fran turned back in excitement the moment I told her about him.
ïŒAmazing! Rhino tribe famous for strength, but few in number.ïŒ
ăWow, really?ă
You know, thinking about it, this is actually my first time seeing any rhino beastkin, which kinda makes sense if theyâre really rare. That said, the guy just kinda just looks like a human with a big frame.
Both the Super Herculean Strength and Vigour Mastery skills caught my interest.
I didnât get to appraise either skill, but I figured they were the respective upgrades to Herculean Strength and Vigour Manipulation. I was interested in his innate skills as well, but I couldnât appraise or intuit either, so they were left as unknowns for the time being.
We might be able to find the answer if we do a bit of research at the guild or ask Aurel or something. Heâs got a tonne of experience, so he might no. Moreover, thereâs actually a fair chance he might have some info on the person himself as well.
ïŒNn. Will ask!ïŒ
It seemed Fran herself was totally on board and going full steam ahead.