Chapter 7: Ability

David recalled the abilities of the Shadow Attendant described in the Sacrifice Manual. No matter how he looked at the figure beside him, it didn’t seem like a being capable of participating in battle.

He stood up. After a reminder from Emma, the intelligent housekeeper, he had his meal and then brought the Shadow Attendant with him to the underground gym.

By now, the mess in the gym had long been cleaned up by Emma; only the Sacrifice Manual lay on the floor, while all the other debris had been cleared away.

David picked up the manual and found the passage about the Shadow Attendant.

“A Shadow Attendant is a servant of the gods. The gods grant the sacrificer powerful assistance, bestowing upon the Shadow Attendant the strength of a giant and the speed of lightning, as well as the ability to fly!” David read softly, but the more he read, the more puzzled he became.

“Shadow Attendant, pick up that barbell,” he ordered, pointing to the one-hundred-kilogram barbell on the floor.

The Shadow Attendant drifted over, but not at any remarkable speed—certainly not matching the swiftness described in the book.

It reached the barbell, extended its indistinct arm to grasp it, but its arm passed straight through the bar, causing a slight tremor but not moving the weight in the slightest.

“It can’t even move a hundred kilos—where is this supposed mighty strength?” David slapped the manual in his hand, muttering to himself.

From what he had just observed, the Shadow Attendant had no combat ability at all. Its speed and strength were unimpressive, and it couldn’t stray more than ten meters from him. How could it possibly threaten an enemy?

He glanced around the room. The barbell was already the lightest piece of equipment; anything lighter was useless to him and thus not present.

“Shadow Attendant, catch this book.” He looked at the manual, then tossed it to the Shadow Attendant.

Obediently, the Shadow Attendant reached for the manual, but once again its hand passed through. This time, however, David noticed the manual pause slightly in midair.

It seemed the Shadow Attendant wasn’t entirely powerless; the objects so far had just been too heavy.

Pulling a strand of hair from his head, he beckoned the Shadow Attendant closer. It floated to his side and stopped.

He handed the hair to the Shadow Attendant, which took it without any trouble—the hair didn’t slip through its grasp.

David’s guess was right. Now he needed to determine the maximum weight the Shadow Attendant could hold.

After a few experiments, he figured out that the Shadow Attendant could handle up to one hundred grams.

This result left David deeply disappointed. With a hundred grams of force, even holding a poisoned needle, it would be hard to pierce an opponent’s skin, let alone cause harm.

However, he also discovered something peculiar. When he placed a needle in the Shadow Attendant’s hand and had it turn invisible, the portion of the needle gripped by the attendant disappeared along with it.

He instructed the Shadow Attendant to completely cover the needle with its hand, and the needle vanished into thin air.

David couldn’t fathom the underlying principle—perhaps it was related to the gods or some unique trait of the Shadow Attendant.

Regardless, his Shadow Attendant was completely different from what was described in the Sacrifice Manual. The original Shadow Attendant lacked the ability to turn invisible but was said to be a formidable fighter; his Shadow Attendant was the opposite.

Nor had he received the physical enhancements that were supposed to accompany the ritual, perhaps because his predecessor had died during the process.

He was certain his strength had not changed, and though he hadn’t tested his speed, his movements felt no different.

Everything seemed to have reverted to square one: the same physical condition as before, and although his memories had returned, his academic level was still insufficient to gain admission to Naan University. The hope of qualifying for the Armored Warrior program remained slim.

On top of all that, he had discovered an enemy who wanted him dead—Trainer Jeremy, a far stronger adversary.

Now, compared to his predecessor, he had two advantages: the memories of his previous life, and the Shadow Attendant at his side. In this interstellar federation, memories of his past life weren’t of much use.

This world’s technology had long since left its home planet and entered the age of the great cosmos, far more advanced than his previous world.

The Shadow Attendant remained his only hope. Thinking of this, David looked at the attendant, recalling the energy he had felt from it earlier that allowed him to fully accept his predecessor’s memories. This suggested the Shadow Attendant possessed other abilities he had yet to discover.

He reached out to touch the Shadow Attendant again, curious if he might gain further benefits.

This time, the moment his hand made contact, strange markings appeared on the semi-transparent form of the Shadow Attendant, glowing with a blue light.

The glowing patterns fragmented into points of starlight, leaving the Shadow Attendant and entering David’s body.

Startled by this unknown change, David nevertheless felt nothing unusual in his body.

The only difference was that his already tight connection with the Shadow Attendant grew even closer—he could now see his own body through the attendant’s eyes.

It was a bizarre sensation, having two perspectives: one as a human being, the other from the Shadow Attendant’s viewpoint.

It was as if he possessed two bodies at once, and the disorientation made it hard for him to maintain balance, rendering even ordinary movements awkward.

He carefully guided his body to sit down. The Shadow Attendant, suspended and motionless in the air, required no such control.

Once seated, David could finally focus and sense more; within the Shadow Attendant’s body, he saw some orbs of light.

Because the Shadow Attendant now felt as much a part of him as his own body, he could clearly perceive the attributes of these orbs: most were red, with a single orange one among them.

He saw five red orbs relating to literature—one of the compulsory school subjects. There were four red orbs for mathematics, two for integrated studies, two for physical arts, and one for mastery of the heavy axe; most of the red orbs were related to academic learning.

Physical arts was a method of body training popularized among ordinary people in the Interstellar Federation, composed of eighteen movements.

Because it caused no side effects and required minimal resources—just adequate nutrition—it became the main form of physical cultivation for the vast majority. Methods surpassing physical arts were available only to the select few at universities or in the military.

Heavy axe mastery was one of the basic combat skills taught in schools. Since the Federation’s main enemy was the Insectoid race, heavy weapons were preferred.

Teaching basic combat skills in high school laid the foundation for the selection of Armored Warriors; proficiency in these basics was a major advantage for applicants.

As for the lone orange orb, it indicated proficiency in sniping.

David was curious about the origins of these orbs, and also dissatisfied with their chaotic arrangement within the Shadow Attendant—they were too disordered.

As he pondered, the orbs began to change, with a line of text appearing above each one.

Literature (35% Initiate), Literature (28% Initiate), Literature (44% Initiate), Literature (19% Initiate), Literature (66% Initiate).

Mathematics (12% Initiate), Mathematics (18% Initiate), Mathematics (22% Initiate), Mathematics (99% Initiate).

Integrated Studies (40% Initiate), Integrated Studies (29% Initiate).

Physical Arts (70% Initiate), Physical Arts (20% Initiate).

Heavy Axe Mastery (33% Initiate).

Sniping (20% Proficient).

He finally understood: red orbs represented the initiate level, orange the proficient level, and the shade of color indicated the degree of mastery within that level.

He had only just acquired the Shadow Attendant, and the only significant event since then was the explosion at the bookstore. David deduced that these orbs of ability must have come from there.

Judging by the abilities represented, these must have been absorbed from those who perished at the scene of the explosion.

David remembered that, in the instant of the blast, he had been thrown aside and sensed the Shadow Attendant briefly lose control—presumably when it had rushed out to absorb these abilities.