《Competitive Edge: The Rebirth of an Idiot》


 Another Forgetful Day

    Ugh, so bright!


    I thought to myself as I sat up and looked out the glass sliding door towards the now frozen lake. Mildly hungover I look at the time on my phone while trying to get myself to fully wake up.


    10:30 I really need to get home and take a shower.


    Yawning I got up and slowly walked to the bathroom but stopped when I noticed a light on from under the door.


    Cory must be up guess.


    I walked back to the sectional couch I woke up on and sat down kicking my feet up on the table.


    "Is that Lysol I smell?" asked Cory.


    "I cleaned up my vomit from last night before going to sleep." I said shifting my eyes away and putting my feet on the ground.


    "Yup, kinda figures since the floor was a little wet" said Cory as he sat down on the couch to the left of me.


    "Sorry about that. That bottle of scotch really was a lot less empty than Dad let on." I grumbled while scratching my beard.


    "Yeah dude, that bottle was still half full and you drank it all in like 2 hours." Cory leaned forward laughing.


    "Well the parents told me to finish the last of the booze from Grandpas funeral when I said I was coming over here to drink." I said.


    We sat in silence for a few moments before I stood up.


    "Well i better get going. Thanks for letting me hang out here last night." I said.


    "Anytime man. I gotta get ready for going to pick up Sandy later." Cory said.


    "Have fun with that man I''ll catch ya later." I said as i walked up the stairs to the front door of H''s house.


    Walking outside to my car I pulled my jacket closer and sighedI have to put in some more applications when i get home. Being jobless while freeing up some time had started to get to me. Not wanting to stay at home all day playing video games or scrolling social media for memes I resolved to do something productive with my time.


    Stepping out of the car a bit over half an hour later and walking into my parent''s house I went to my room and was about to get started with those applications when my stomach growled. Welp as much I don''t want to eat I really should. I should really drink some of water while I''m at it. I walked to the kitchen intent on raiding the pantry for anything quick and easy to make.Alas another day with no food to make. I thought fully aware that we had plenty of food just none that was plate ready in 5 minutes or less. Walking downstairs and knocking on the wall when I reached the bottom.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    "Is Vivi alseep?" I called out softly.


    "Yeah come on in." Nora my sister-in-law said.


    "I''m gonna make a Jersey Mikes run you want anything? There''s no food upstairs." I asked knowing that I wasn''t helping her stick to her kido diet.


    "I''ll text it to you." she said.


    "I''m heading out while the cars still warm then." I said as she waved me off while checking at her phone.


    Getting back into my car I turned on the stereo hearing some snippet about President Frump making another post on social media.A bunch of idiotsI thought to myself thinking about the state of what our media considered newsworthy.Welp business as usual i guess.I turned stereo to aux and started looking through Utube for something to listen to. Finding a new electro swing music playlist I select that and headed on my way. 20 minutes into the drive I was stopped at a stoplight waiting to turn and checked my phone to select the next song when I head the brakes of a Semi-truck screeching. Looking up and to my left just in time to the the grill of the Semi hurtling towards me. Well Shit. At least I don''t have to worry about lunch anymore I thought right as everything went black...


    <table style="border-color: #000000; background-color: #1ba63b">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Initializing...</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Huh?


    <table style="background-color: #1ba63b">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>Name</td>


    <td>Brynth Arma</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Race</td>


    <td>Pangolian</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Status</td>


    <td>Healthy</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Health</td>


    <td>25/65</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Injury</td>


    <td>62%</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Essence</td>


    <td>0/100</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Stamina</td>


    <td>35/40</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Fatigue</td>


    <td>80%</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Strength</td>


    <td>13</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Dexterity</td>


    <td>6</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Constitution</td>


    <td>12</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Spirit</td>


    <td>10 (20)</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Agility</td>


    <td>8</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Status? Am I dreaming?


    "Brynth!" called a feminine voice.


    "Ugh, not so loud." I grumbled.


    "Brynth are you ok? You suddenly collapsed when you learned that skill." the voice called out again.


    "Skill? What skill?" I asked looking up stunned at the beauty rushing up to me. She long black hair that turned to a dark red near the tips that went down just past her waist next to her short black furry...TAIL?! Her bright silver eyes looking on with concern as I realized her wolf like ears were on the top of her head perked up in alarm. The Scythe in her hands lookinig way too heavy for someone of her stature. She seemed to be about 170 centimeters tall wearing brown leather armor and a brown leather pants. I was startled to know that I remebered that her name was Ruby Ravenport and she was the daughter of a successful armor merchant based in the nearby city of Flumen. I seemed to be was what was called a Pangolian with sharp looking segmented claws that were relatively close to a human hand with light brown scales up to my elbow. I was wearing a brown leather cuirass and a leather skirt designed for mobility. My scaled feet with toe claws in the same fashion as my clawed hands.


    "That sketchy skill that you said sounded really cool. I knew having a second will for seperate tasks sounded too good to be true." Ruby said with a frown as she kneeled down next to me putting down her scythe.


    Ugh my head!I heard in my head but as a thought that wasn''t my own.Wait! My thoughts aren''t even private anymore I screamed out in my mind.But then I heard her voiceYou mean MY mind.I heard from a husky female voice in my head.


    This is gonna take some getting used to.We both thought at the same time.

 Sharing Isnt Caring

    It was quite annoying actually having to educate what I could only assume was myself on what the hell was going on since apparently the personality provided by the skill retained my memories but didn''t have any of the instictual knowledge that every creature on that planet knew. Skills were a crystalization of our progress, an unmistakeable showing of one''s capability and while gaining a skill is just the beginning it took a certain set of conditions for them to materialize. For one you had to have the ability to channel Essence, secondly you needed to be proficient at what you wanted to become a skill to the point where it was second nature, and lastly you needed to have your starter class.While this was the conditions under which most skills manifested it was not the only method. The other method being a skill crystal. A skill crystal was a one time use object that required one to have a compatible class and some essence to fuel the process of transfering the skill. Unfortunately not all could gain skills since getting your starter class required resources that were generally not available at prices affordable everyone. Just getting the most basic Freelancer class required an Awakening stone which usually took upwards of 5 Emerald coins to purchase which was enough to feed a family for 5 years. Brynth was explaining this mentally to her new personality until she realized


    Wait You dont have a name yet do you? Brynth asked mentally.


    Of course I have a name! It''s......I can''t remember. I said.


    Almost tripping at the stupidity of her new split personality she fumed Well I can''t just call you You all the time! How about Rela? Brynth suggested.


    Nope! I can''t have such a......wait we are a girl aren''t we? I guess you should call me Dusk. I replied.


    Dusk huh? Brynth thought.


    But before they could continue with their discussion Ruby stopped us as we were walking across the bridge next to her home she asked. "Brynth were here. Do you want me to come with?"


    Ahead was a large building with a script that read Arma. "Well I guess if anyone would know how to deal with this Father might." Brynth sighed to herself. Ruby walked into the shop with us trailing behind. The shop looked like it was designed for affluent clientele. With a large selection of quality weapons being displayed primarily consisting of various types of swords, axes, and spears there were quite a few odd looking ones as well. While the best weapons and armor was found from looting monsters most beginning Investigators needed a starting point. As we walked up the stairs to the office above the shop Brynth pulled up the skill that caused all this commotion.


    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 67.2673%; background-color: #35a54b" border="1">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center">Additional Ego</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center">Brings forth another ego to learn and perform tasks in the user''s stead.</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Reaching the top of the stairs we walked into the office as a Large Pangolian man with a strong jaw and a fierce expression was sitting at his desk working scribbling away on a parchment with one of his claws wet with ink as he was using it to write. Xander Arma was a stern man having risen up from mediocrity by following one of the country''s most famous Investigators he was a harsh but fair mentor and his training was one of the reasons the weathly tried to keep in touch with him long after they outgrew the weapons he crafted for them. He finished writing and looked up as he walked over to the sink in the office and rinsed off his claw before he walked over and looked over his glasses and inspected the look on his daughter''s face who is back later than he expected.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Brynth spoke up "Hey Dad I think I might messed up a bit."


    The man raised an eyebrow and stated in a voice that brooked no argument "That test was far too easy for you to have possibly messed it up."


    "Mr. Arma she didn''t mess up the test she passed with high marks." Ruby said.


    "It''s a skill crystal we found down ther-" Brynth was saying when her father cut her off.


    "Skill crystal? Which type? What happened?" He rapid fired off questions as his eyes lit up at the prospect of his daughter having found a skill crystal while on her first outing to become an official Investigator. Since skill crystals could only be natually formed finding one was quite rare.


    "It said that it would create another ego to help out with tasks I thought it would help me out once I got more skills." Brynth said starting to trail off at the end.


    "That''s a very useful sounding skill that is almost unheard of." Xander said.


    "That''s what I thought too until I realized it was an idiot." Brynth complained.


    Hey I''m not an idiot I just don''t know how this world operates yet! Dusk shouted in her mind


    "Would you mind showing me the exact wording of the skill description?" Xander asked.


    Brynth nodded as she added her father to her party and brought up the skill.


    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 67.2673%; background-color: #35a54b" border="1">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center">Additional Ego</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center">Brings forth another ego to learn and perform tasks in the user''s stead.</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "That''s a troublesome way they phrased it." Xander said with a thoughtful expression. "Would you mind letting it speak for a moment?"


    "If you think it will help." Bryth said as she relinquished control of her body over to Dusk.


    Xander and Ruby stared for a moment as Brynth''s posture changed from having slightly slumped shoulders with her arms hanging down a bit while clutching her hands together like a child that did something wrong to standing upright with her hands clasped behind her back and opening her eyes wider and a smile on her face as she looked around as if to take in all that this world had to offer.


    "Hello! Er...Dad? Xander? Which would you rather have me call you?" asked Dusk.

 More Questions Than Answers

    Ruby''s POV


    Life with Brynth as a friend has always been interesting but when I saw how her posture changed as the ego from her skill took control I was stunned and not just a little bit afraid for my friend. It seemed quite unnatural how quickly she seemed to become something else entirely. And judging from the look on Mr. Arma''s face I''d wager he thinks so too.


    "Xander is fine. And what might I ask is your name?" Mr. Arma asked as he collected himself after a brief moment.


    "Brynth and I haven''t decided a name yet but I''m partial to the name Dusk." Dusk elaborated.


    Dusk huh? Ruby ran it over in her mind not quite sure what to make of the name.


    "Well, Dusk is it? I''m not quite certain why my daughter thinks you''re an idiot but if you came from a skill I highly doubt that you''re as incapable as she thinks." Mr. Arma said frowning


    "With all due respect Xander I''ve only been in this world for a few hours and to be frank this world is VERY different from the world that I come from." stated Dusk while gesturing at us.


    "So you''re not something that was generated via the skill? Interesting." Mr. Arma said.


    Then where are you from? I thought to myself


    "No." Dusk said touching her claw to her chin thoughtfully. "I am defnitely not something created by a skill. The last thing I can remember is someone calling out to me and BAM next thing I know I''m waking up in your daughter''s body with a nasty headache."


    "I''m not quite sure what a semi is." Mr. Arma said his frown deepening. "Can I assume that you mean you were knocked out?"


    "No I mean I''m quite sure I died." Dusk said dropping a bomb while looking me in the eye.


    What?! I thought to myself stunned. To think that someone has come back from the dead!


    Before I could follow that particular train of thought any further Dusk dropped another bomb.


    "All I know is that the world I came from didn''t operate under the same laws of physics. We don''t have magic there, monsters aren''t a thing outside story books, and the only sentient race that we knew of was humans." Dusk said casually.


    I stared at her not knowing what to make of all this.


    "So are you making any sense of all this?" I asked Mr. Arma


    "I''m afraid all I can tell you is that I''m just as confused at this turn of events as you all are."


    "So Dusk do you know what you CAN do since you''re here?" I ask.


    "To be frank I''m still trying to sort through Brynth''s memories. If I knew how you all operated your skill screens maybe I could tell you something." Dusk shrugged.


    "Just picture a the state of yourself and it should appear in your mind or in front of you it varies on the individual." Mr. Arma said like he was lecturing a small childIf you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "Ah, there it is." Dusk said with a happy expression on her face.


    She really does seem quite clueless. I thought to myself when a notification appeared.


    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 70.1711%; background-color: #35a54b" border="1">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center">Ego Dusk would like to share thier status screen with you do you accept? Y/N</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    I selected yes and was stunned by what I saw.


    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 39.6465%; background-color: #35a54b" border="1">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 31.6144%">Status</td>


    <td style="width: 30.6168%">Mirrors skill holder</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 31.6144%">Name</td>


    <td style="width: 30.6168%">Dusk</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 31.6144%">Race</td>


    <td style="width: 30.6168%">Ego (Pangolian)</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 31.6144%">Status</td>


    <td style="width: 30.6168%">Healthy</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 31.6144%">Heath</td>


    <td style="width: 30.6168%">65/65</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 31.6144%">Injury</td>


    <td style="width: 30.6168%">N/A</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 31.6144%">Essence</td>


    <td style="width: 30.6168%">100/100</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 31.6144%">Stamina</td>


    <td style="width: 30.6168%">40/40</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 31.6144%">Fatigue</td>


    <td style="width: 30.6168%">N/A</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 31.6144%">Strength</td>


    <td style="width: 30.6168%">13</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 31.6144%">Dexterity</td>


    <td style="width: 30.6168%">8</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 31.6144%">Constitution</td>


    <td style="width: 30.6168%">12</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 31.6144%">Spirit (Conjoined with skill holder)</td>


    <td style="width: 30.6168%">10 (20)</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 31.6144%">Agility</td>


    <td style="width: 30.6168%">8</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    These are Brynth''s stats?! But her spirit should only be 4! What did that skill do?! I looked to Mr. Arma to see if he could explain what was going on but he looked like he had seen a ghost.


    "What?" Dusk asked as Mr. Arma and I looked at the screen then each other.


    "It seems you are indeed much more of a boon than we could have anticipated." Mr. Arma said with a strange look on his face. "Do you know how to use any of Brynth''s skills?" he asked.


    "I dunno lets find out." Dusk said as her right claw became wreathed in black flames. "I guess that answers that question."


    "That''s not Brynth''s skill." I said while trying to keep calm. "Her Flame Claw spell covers her claw in red flames."


    "Oh....Well lets check the difference then!" Dusk said before another screen appeared before us.


    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 47.5429%; background-color: #35a54b" border="1">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center">Additional Ego (Contracted)</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center">Transfers the soul of the recently deceased into the host of the skill and merges them while retaining individuality.</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 47.5303%; background-color: #35a54b" border="1">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center">Passive: Contracted Ego</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center">Gives access to all of the hosts skills and changes the Element of the skill the element most compatible with the Ego (Shadow)</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "I think we might have to talk to someone a bit more experienced with strange occurences like this." Mr. Arma said solemly. "It''s time I called in a few favors."


    "Who do you want to call?" I asked not sure there was a person alive that I knew of who could help.


    "Anette." Mr. Arma said. She''s an old friend from my days as an Investigator."


    "Auntie Anette is coming?" I asked becoming a bit excited at the prospect of getting some advice from my idol.


    "No, we''ll have to take a trip to see her since she refuses to come into this city." Mr. Arma replied.


    "Just who is this Anette person?" Dusk asked. "I haven''t had the chance to process all of Brynth''s memories."


    "She used to be a pretty well know Investigator in the area but one day she just got up and left without a word." I informed her excitedly.


    "Just know she can be a bit eccentric at times." Xander said with a slight smile. "Dusk would you mind handing control back to Brynth?"


    "Alright, Sure thing Xander." Dusk replied.


    "In the mean time you three should get some rest and get ready for tomorrow." Mr. Arma said. "It''s going to take us a few weeks of travel to reach the city she''s been staying in."

 An Unexpected Surprise

    Brynth''s POV


    "This is far less exciting than I thought it would be." I complained to Ruby.


    "Well it''s not like every job that Investigators get is slaying a cave troll." Ruby replied with a roll of her eyes.


    "I know, I just thought that even on the more mundane jobs like there would at least be some scenery worth seeing." I grumbled.


    "Oh there will be plenty of scenery to see should you travel enough." my Dad said with a laugh. "After all were only two days outside of the city its not like the landscape would turn to a forest in just a few kilometers. Well in most cases at least."


    "But you''ve told us stories of TONS of different landscapes while you were on just one job." I countered.


    "And just how long do you think it took us to finish that job?" He asked with an eyebrow raised.


    I paused for a moment as I didn''t realize him ever telling us the length of that particular job. "I dunno maybe about....three months?" I could hear an audible smack as Ruby face palmed.


    My Dad laughed as he replied. "No honey it took us 2 years to finish that job. Sniffing out cultists is more troublesome than you''d think. After all it''s a rare thing for them to do something obvious or traceable like evangelizing most seem like ordinary people most of the time."


    "Like our so called boss?" I scoffed. "No matter how many times I look I still can''t see him being a noble."


    "Do you think that is by accident?" Xander asked with a shake of his head. "Did you stop to think that maybe if he was travelling with only a light escort wearing expensive looking clothes that he would be a prime target to get robbed?"


    "But why can they get away with it in the city then? Would that weath have any way to be spent out here in the middle of nowhere? I don''t see how it could be much good out here." I countered.


    "True but you have to make it out alive with that money to be able to spend it no? Wouldn''t it be easier to travel to another town or city and spend it there before word got out of that money being stolen goods?" Ruby supplied unhelpfully.


    She has a point you know. Dusk added


    "Aren''t you supposed to be on my side in this?" I huffed not quite sure who that statement was meant for.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Nope I''m on the side of whatever makes the most sense!" she giggled.


    Babying you isn''t beneficial for any of us. Dusk said plainly.


    "Hey can''t this thing go any faster?" I kicked the side of the cart we were in trying to hide my embarassment.


    "These are designed for long distance travel and cargo not for speed Brynth. They aren''t supposed to get you somewhere quickly. Besides while we are going early to get you a good idea which direction to train you for your new ego I was planning on making a trip to the capital anyway. It just so happens that Harmony''s Rest is on the way." Xander said absentmindedly inspecting some of the wares he brought with to sell.


    "Is there anyway for Dusk to communicate with us outside of you giving him control?" Ruby asked. "I''d imagine it would be annoying having to wait for you to give her control everytime to tell us something."


    Hmm that would be nice. Dusk added helpfully. Do you guys know the requirements necessary to learn specific skills?


    The more common ones yeah but specialized ones have to be looked up. Why? I asked.


    Well I was thinking no one would have any idea how to optimize their builds if they didn''t know what was possible. Dusk explained.


    Well while we don''t know all of the skills that exist we do know how to get the ones that people shared the method of developing such skills. It''s why skill crystals are so rare anytime they come up on the market they''re usually bought up by someone with skills that synergize with it. I explained. Well that''s what Dad told me anyway.


    That still doesn''t explain who knows those methods or how one would go about finding out the method to develop said skill. Dusk reminded me.


    It''s all searchable on data slates. I informed her. All someone has to do is describe what the skill does requirements for learning it and send the information to the Archivers.


    Archivers? Is that supposed to be some kind of organization? Dusk asked.


    Kind of I don''t really know to many details since I never really thought about it but maybe my Dad knows? I offered. Here take the reigns for a bit and ask him.


    "Hey Xander whats the deal with the Archivers?" Dusk asked.


    "Dusk? Where''s Brynth?" Xander asked.


    "She was getting bored with just seeing a bunch of trees." Dusk informed.


    "They''re an international informative body whose goal is to categorize all kinds of skills so that no matter how bloody any wars get we can preserve the methods to obtaining new skills." Xander explained.


    "So does every skill have to get recorded by them? Seems like that would be a breach of privacy." Dusk said with a frown.


    "No not every skill needs to be recorded but if they find out that you have a skill that you developed that they don''t know how to replicate they will be very annoying until you tell them so most people just tell them to get them of thier backs." Xander explained. "Though not everyone shares of course large groups of people who have some decent amount of influence can generally keep the Archivers off thier doorstep by other means."


    "Facinating!" exclaimed a gruff voice from behind us. It came from a disheveled looking man 220 centimeters tall his spotted sand colored fur doing little to hide the lean muscle of his frame.


    "Sorry to interrupt your conversation but I just couldn''t help be curious about the shift that this young lady just showed. Would you mind telling me what kind of skill allows such a personality switch? My name is Zeke and I''m actually a member of the Archivers."