bignt

I have made a few changes in the stats and added a few skills that I found essential, like haggling, arithmetic, language, and geometry. If you find anything else worth adding, please comment below. I am only a man, not a god.

When Mog saw his status, he was stunned. Although he saw it once through an evaluation stones projection, it was his first time seeing it with his mind.

Also, this was far more detailed than the evaluation of the intermediate stone. It had both skills and talents, and even the stats were more detailed. It was obvious that this was a perfect reading, worth a thousand silvers.

In his excitement, he checked his status.

The upper part of the status was as he remembered, just that his Level percentage was higher. In the past, it was only 7%, but now, it was 43%. He heard from Rizor that the Levels increase slowly from training and also faster by killing things. Naturally, Mog trained in pickpocketing and thievery and also killed a few rats for their meat.

For now, classes were unimportant since they only got unlocked at the age of 18 and Level 5.

For stats, Mog heard that, apart from mana and aura, stats were averaged at F for the average untrained Level 1 human adult. He also heard that, for humane races, stats ranged from G- to SSS+, where G- is the weakest and SSS+ is the strongest. For weaker races, such as small rats, The ranking could even go down to H or I.

His strength being at G+ was normal, considering his immature body. In fact, it was a tad stronger than the average human child. Mog never really trained in his strength, so it was normal.

Vitality, in contrast, was higher since Mog needed to run a lot and had to expose himself to the elements more than the average child. His orcish heritage also contributed to it.

Mog trained as a pickpocket and thief, so he naturally had better agility, especially reflexes, since he needed to avoid getting grabbed in the case of failure.

His intelligence was also good since he got tutored by Rizor from a young age and being naturally smart.

For awareness, his highest stat, it was honed thanks to years living on the streets. His Intuition, perception, and judgment, were what kept him from being caught until now. It was especially so for his willpower. His powerful will to live and develop was why he managed to endure his poor lifestyle and loneliness.

Because he never trained in it, his aura storage was at G-, but his talent in it was high. His attunement was already at E+, making it easy to train.

In contrast, for mana, he lacked any semblance of talent. Those with some talent would have a bit of mana conductivity in their body, making it easier to train in mana, but he lacked them both, making it almost impossible to train mana in this lifetime.

For skills, Mog didn't really understand all about them, but he heard from Rizor that skills were a mixture of knowledge, honed life skills, and innate bodily abilities. For example, arithmetics were mainly knowledge-based and also leaned on practical application. Basic knife mastery relied on mainly honed skills and less knowledge. The skills Tough and Iron gut, Skills that increased the body's ability to take hits and gave better digestion, were skills that relied a little on honed skills and mainly on innate bodily abilities.

These skills were both tangible and intangible. They gave a correction to all your actions, but they were also not absolute. Two swordsmen with the same skills and stats might have a different type of swordsmanship mastered, creating a variance and different results.

However, stats could deteriorate and skills could be forgotten. If a swordsman doesn't train in swordsmanship for long periods of time, his skill will deteriorate, reducing its level. When a warrior doesn't train, his body conditioning will get lower. Aging could also increase or reduce stats. For example, when Mog hits puberty, his strength and vitality will show signs of increasing. When his body becomes old, most of his stats will start declining, albeit slowly.

Also, stats themselves were not absolute, either. A giant who had the same strength ranking as a normal-sized man would naturally be stronger than the man due to his sheer massive mass and size. Naturally, a giant would need a higher strength to move his lumbering body so he would be less nimble than a normal-size man.

In any case, while Mog did not know the specifics of each skill, he knew that it reflected his training up to this day.

He had Iron guts from eating raw meats, insects, and rotten foods when he was starving. Tough was gained from falling, scraping his body, and small brawls with local bullies. The brawls were short and unskilled, and those that escalated mainly involved intimidation and knives, hence why he had Intimidation but not basic hand-to-hand mastery.

Pickpocketing, hiding, evading, haggling, basic knife mastery, and lockpicking were essential thief skills. Although Mog specialized in pickpocketing, Rizor made sure to teach him the basics of lockpicking.

Arithmetics and Geometry were obvious. When one reached lvl 5 in arithmetics, it symbolized that he knew his basic math table perfectly, knowing addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Higher levels included percentage, fractions, exponentiation, etc, as well as higher mastery. Thieves needed to know their calculus to avoid making a loss in small transactions, and to be a merchant, lvl 5 in arithmetics was a must, or the merchant would make a loss. Rizor made sure to teach Mog arithmetics and even basic geometry before passing away. However, since Rizor himself didn't know algebra, he naturally couldn't teach it to him.

For languages, level 4 was a benchmark for speaking the language fluently and correctly as a local. Any higher level than that also included reading, writing, and the correct way of speaking in official situations, such as court. While Mog couldn't be considered a scholar, he learned from Rizor the basics about reading and writing in the Lamarian common language. At the very least, he could read and write a small essay and understand it correctly. This level of literacy made him being considered literate, something that, in the city of Lamaria, only about 15% were in that said group. In other regions and cities, it fluctuated between 5 and 15%.

All of these showed just how valuable the teachings of Rizor were. A normal human child with his background would have normally only learned a craft and remained illiterate and innumerate for their whole life, let alone a half-blood like him. Then again, the pay for lower-class teachers privately teaching young kids in aristocratic families was 12 silvers a month. Even if the living costs were covered by the employers, it was still a far cry from the pay of a Centurian Legionaire who earned 300 silvers a month.

On the other hand, a Grammaticus who taught literature and advanced language in the academy could earn around 200 silver for each student a month. However, such a cozy job not only required the know-how but also connections and power. Only mages, famous scholars, and learned people with strong backgrounds enjoyed such a privilege. Mog had none of these qualities, and he was a half-blood orc who are stigmatized as muscleheads, so he naturally couldn't go through the academic path.

For the last skill, wit, he believed that it had something to do with the stability of his mental fortitude.

For talent, Mog didn't know much. He could only guess what they meant. Watched by Veona probably meant that he somehow garnered the attention of the goddess. Perhaps it was due to his pious nature or due to another reason. For the effects, it may or may not affect his luck somehow.

Perhaps the old soothsayer would know - He thought to himself.

For his warrior and rogue talents, he heard from Rizor that those with talent learned skills faster and had an easier time acquiring related classes. Advanced Warrior Talent probably meant he had a very high talent for being a warrior, and Intermediate Rogue Talent meant he had a good talent to be a Rogue. He didn't know the exact grading system for talent or if there are better talents than advanced.

As for the last part with the question marks... He gave up on understanding it. He would ask the soothsayer if she knew.

After finishing reading his Status, he opened his eyes and was about to ask the soothsayer his query, only to find that she was panting heavily and shaking.

Mog then remembered. For soothsayers, using perfect status reading was taxing. It was not only expensive but also required the favor of the soothsayer. Such a reading, because it can detect a person's innate talents, could change his fate completely.

In his excitement, he forgot these facts. He just now realized how great of a favor he was given.

He worriedly and respectfully asked, "Madam soothsayer, are you alright? Do you need some water?"

Between breaths, the old soothsayer said, "It's fine... It's fine... I just need some rest..."

After staying with the soothsayer for a short while, the old soothsayer returned to normal, albeit a bit paler.

She then said, "I am fine now. Ask your query."

Mog nodded and asked, "What is the talent Watched by Veona?"

Turning her head in the direction of the statue of Veona, the soothsayer said, "To be watched by a god means that they are keeping tabs on you. In other words, she took notice of your piety, and you have gained a small favor from her. As long as you are in her good books, your luck and fortune will be slightly better. For reference, about a tenth of the citizens of Lamaria are being watched by a god. It is nothing special. If you ever gain a blessing, even a lesser one, that would be a whole new story, however. Is there anything else you would like to ask?"

Mog nodded and asked, "One of my talents is strange. It's almost all question marks and is also locked. It even appears to have a level. Do you know what it is?"

The old soothsayer turned her head in Mog's direction as if looking through her blindfolded blind eyes and peering into him.

She said slowly, "That, my dear boy, is an innate talent you were born with but have yet to awaken. Such talents are not only extremely rare but are also hard to unlock. From increasing the training speed of any or all of your stats, being uniquely gifted in certain skills, and having unique powers, these talents are mighty. It is to the extent where someone who managed to unlock one, unless he is a complete slob, can become something great in the future. However..."

She turned her head to the sky, "The conditions to unlock them vary greatly. Be it extreme stimuli or extreme hard work, one will need to fulfill them to unlock and evolve the talent." She turned to Mog again, "I can divine that your type is the latter type, one needing extreme hard work to unlock. The specifics of it, however, are beyond me. You will need to figure it out yourself. Anything else?"

Mog hesitated for a bit, before asking, "About normal talents, do you know how the rankings go and what are their effects?"

The old Soothsayer nodded, "Sure. Normal talents are divided into 4 primary ranks; beginner, intermediate, advanced, and perfect. Beginner talents increase the learning speed of related skills and the development of related stats by 25-50%. Intermediate increase by 51-100%. Advanced talent increases it by 101-200%. Perfect talent increases it by 201-300%. At any rate, beginner talents are rather common. Most people have at least a single talent. Intermediate talents are less common. One out of ten will have one. Advanced talents are rare, only one in a thousand will have one.

As for perfect talents... In the entire empire, consisting of around 50 million citizens, I have divined that there are 421, and 78 of them are those so-called demigods, including the emperor. As for a hidden talent like yours... Only 2 exist in the entire empire. One of them is you, and the other... Is the current reigning emperor, Taidus Hecatus Caesar's most dotted great-grandchild, the empire's most beloved jewel, Octavia Caesaris. Until now, I didn't know who was the second one. I Never expected it to be you. I only sensed an advanced talent, so I wished to give you a little guidance, never thought I would find you like this."

She then sighed heavily and said in a grave tone, "Listen, kid. Let me give you a valuable piece of advice. Never tell anyone you have such a talent."

Mog asked worriedly, "Am I in trouble?"

She shook her head, "No, at least, not yet. It is fine to reveal having an intermediate or even advanced talent, but revealing a perfect talent without background is like throwing a piece of meat in front of starving wolves. Everyone would be raring to get a piece of you. Those who manage to get you will try and control you. Those who don't get you will try and kill you. Don't even mention what will happen to you, a defenseless brat with a special talent. Even the Emporer will get his royal arse off from his golden shitter to capture you. Enemy kingdoms and empires will also attempt to capture you. All the sides that don't manage it will attempt to kill you with all they have. That is the kind of life that awaits those with too much talent and no background. Even Octavia, in her 6 short years of life, had over a hundred attempts on her life, one of which was from a demigod assassin, and she is the emperor's most dotted great-grandchild. Get it?"

Cold sweat formed on Mog's skin as he audibly gulped. He understood it clearly.

"Yes, I get it."

"Good. I didn't tell you this before, but I divined that the Lamarian empire is not your birthplace. You were born somewhere overseas, far away from this small empire. I suspect your parents secretly smuggled you here for your protection, leaving you in the custody of your adoptive father. Don't waste their effort. Hide it and grow strong."

Before Mog could even say something, she suddenly stood up with her back straight. Her body rapidly rejuvenated, turning young again until she looked like a 30-year-old stunningly beautiful woman. The rags she wore flashed with light and turned into a majestic, beautiful, and revealing mage gown, showcasing her ample chest and rear and her flawless gray skin. Her worn walking stick flashed with light and was replaced with a golden staff. Her blindfold became white and had golden spiderweb markings on it. Her mage gown had a golden spider with golden spiderwebs decorating it. Her staff had a golden spider holding a white crystal. Her entire being radiated light as if she was a divine being.

She then smiled at the stunned Mog before saying in the most enchanting and beautiful voice he had ever heard in his life, "After you become a demigod, you can meet me again in the ancient Underdark city of Vlaapolis. My name is Menvi Kiadunrac, high priestess of Emphine, goddess of the webs of fate. Good luck, kid. The world is your oyster."

With a small tap of her staff on the ground, her body flashed and she disappeared, leaving the stunned Mog behind.

After a few minutes, Mog woke up from his stupor. He looked around and realized that nobody was looking in his direction, as if nothing happened. Cold sweat once again formed on Mog's body.

He muttered, "Good thing I wasn't disrespectful... She was a demigod..."

Mog stared at the darkening sky and decided to head home. He had experienced too much for a single day.