Broken

Chapter 48

"There, as good as new." Stated Aiden with a smirk as he helped me off the infirmary bed. 

As soon as were returned to the guild we made a be-line straight for Aiden at the infirmary. He may have been a creepy fellow who got just a little too much enjoyment out of people's pain, but he was also probably the best healer in the city. After working with healers from other guilds I had gained a whole new appreciation for Aiden.

Heck, the Paladin healer in the maze may have been a trainee, but he had still been high class. Yet even he struggled to keep up with the healing in the maze. True, some shit went down that we hadn't expected, but I was also sure that Aiden could have probably kept up with it.

"So what the heck happened that you all came home looking like you got in a fist fight with pack of golems?" Carson finally asked. 

He had accompanied us as soon as we arrived back at the guild, but had refrained from asking too many questions before we'd been looked after. Now that it didn't feel like the slightest move might shatter my bones and rupture my organs, the questioning had started.

Eric snorted. After he was sure of my and Greyson's health he had lost his serious face and returned to his cocky one. I had to admit that, as irritating as I found the twins at times, I preferred them upbeat over hurt and anxious. "Golems would have been a breeze."

Taking the lead in the debriefing, Bryce began to give the break down of what had happened within the guild. Once he got to the 'giant' part, I stepped up to provide context as well. I told them about my skills going haywire, and my assumption that I had gotten a new random skill.

"Wait... <Summon Greater Dragon>? " said Greyson, eyes wide. "And you didn't use it?"

He sounded flabbergasted, but I was sure that using that damn skill would have gotten us all killed for sure. Carson was apparently thinking the same thing, as he looked at the blonde man like he had grown another head.

"I am sure Aoife did the right thing. Not only in not using the skill, but also in saving it in the first place." The guild leader sighed while both Bryce and Alex nodded their heads.

"It's a shame I have no free skill slots left in <Index> now that I know crazy stuff like that can happen. It's terrifying to think that I could randomly get another skill like that again at any time. If I can't <Index> the skill to nullify the bad luck, then I just have to wait it out." The idea of bring that horror home was terrifying.

"I'm just as concerned about the system error you mentioned." Pondered Carson. "A few of us have climbed the tower past the tenth floor, and I can say that I've never seen an error message..."

I was concerned about that too. Not to mention the strange silver color of the skill itself. I could only think of one reason for that, and it had to do with the raider grading system. Both instances and raider's themselves were divided into categories ranging from no-star to five-star. But above even that was the level distinguished by color, rather than number: Silver-star. 

This was a way of measurement put forth by the 'system' itself, and anything silver was essentially considered immeasurable. The best of the best. Something so rare and powerful that it borders on mythological. In the entire world, a person could name the number of Silver-star raiders, and each of them possessed so much power that even countries would be hard pressed to take them on if the need arises.

In knowing that the system graded so many things in this manner, it wouldn't be surprising to think that skills might also fall into these categories.

So if the <Summon Greater Dragon> skill was categorized as 'silver' I could only assume that it was part of that intangible tier. And that was horrifying. It also begs the question of what exactly that skill had turned into.