It's 6:23 PM. Kia had already left, but we talked a lot more after the reveal of my tree.
Apparently 35% is fairly high when it comes to overlapping. The highest amount of overlapping that's been recorded was 67% and 52%, which belonged to a Venator who made her debut not too long ago, Elena Vermilyea. She nearly instantly rose in the ranking, becoming an S-ranked Venator after a few weeks. It was no question that she was strong, but the fact that the larger percent of her overlapping occurred with her mage class going over her tank class pushed the limits even more, considering that the mage class is believed to be the strongest.
Elena specializes in reflecting damage done to herself or allies, all while casting strong mental skills that cause her foes to become irrational. As a result, you have someone who forces people to launch their strongest attacks and reflects said attacks right back at them. Pretty scary, huh? Well, I made a reservation to meet her.
New Venators are allowed to choose a "mentor" of some sort to help them get used to things and grow stronger. Of course, being a mentor is restricted to A-ranked and above Venators, which was perfectly fine in Elena's case. The problem I had was getting her to accept my request. Good thing people have their weaknesses, as much as I hate to take advantage of them.
Despite how strong Elena is, her skills have quite a backlash. Since she's a tank hybrid, she naturally has some resistance to damage on her body. Most of the skills she uses require a trade-off, and she can't use her body to sustain damage because it won't be enough to fulfill the requirements of her skills. Instead, she chooses to damage her mind, causing headaches and forcing herself to relive painful memories. These mental attacks usually stay for 12 hours before slowly disappearing, but they intensify the more she uses her skills. That's where I come in.
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Skill Name: Cleanse of the Goddess
Skill Rank: Null
Skill Type: Activate
Skill Description: Completely removes any debuffs and mental stress on a person.
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If what the skill description says is true, then I should be able to relieve Elena of the damage she's taking on her mental state. I just hope that after I do that for her, she'll take me in as an apprentice. She does know that I'm a support, so that might affect things, but I still have high hopes!
I waited for her on floor 3, which was the commons and food court. It was already pretty late, and you don't see many people coming here for dinner, so this place was ideal for mentor meetups.
I sat in one of the booths in the corner next to a window. Despite it already being pretty late, the sun had just started to set, its dark yellow and orange rays shining through the room. I haven't had much time to take a look around me, but I never realized that the Diamondback building had such a nice view. Nearly all of the streets in my city led to it, so it had nice openings to look out at the landscape. This gorgeous view was given to us by the gods, but that made me start thinking about them even more.
Who exactly were these gods? Did they exist before the Fissures began opening? What do they want from us? And what I'm wondering most: what does the Goddess of Alleviation want with me?
There's barely been any records of gods existing before, so why now? If the Goddess of Alleviation chose me as a representative, would that mean that there are other representatives for the other gods? Thinking about all of this makes my head hurt...
"Iason?" A soft voice said in front of me. I look up from my daydreaming to see Elena Vermilyea. She was tall with sky blue hair and light skin. Her overall appearance was gentle and easy to approach, complementing her loose white dress shirt and blue knee-high skirt. Along with that, she held a purse over her shoulder, which seemed to rattle a little bit as she sat down. If I had to assume, that rattling would be from painkillers she would use for her headaches. Other than that specific observation, you never would have expected that she was under so much mental stress.
I stand up and bow to her. "Yes, ma'am. That's me!"
"Don't. Do that. We're the same age." Elena's brow furrowed, and she put one hand up. I take it back. Other than that specific observation and her mood, you never would have expected that she was under so much mental stress.
I nod in understanding. She did have a point, but she was a higher rank than I, not to mention that she probably only thinks that I'm a support. If I make one wrong move, then this opportunity to learn about overlapping classes is gone forever.
We both sat in front of each other in awkwardness, with the silence breaking only after I realized what she was waiting for.
"Oh, right! Should I start?"
"Go ahead." The woman mumbled and rubbed the sides of her head with her fingers.
I stand up in my seat and put my hands out, casting [Cleanse of the Goddess] on her. Much like how I used [Health Strike] earlier, golden energy flowed from my hands and circled above Elena, creating a halo-like shape. All while this was happening, Elena stared at the effects in wonder, the energy sparkling in the sun as the halo traveled down and touched her head, dissipating after making contact.
Her eyes widened, tears beginning to form at the edges of her eyes. That's how I knew that the skill worked. She began sobbing, and I just sat there, letting her have her time to take everything in. I guess now that I look at it, this was the purpose of being a support: helping others. Sure, I may not be a full one, but it's still my duty to assist my fellow Venators, no matter how much they may discriminate against me. It felt good.
"Thank you..." Elena said as she wiped away her tears. "Sorry for acting like that earlier. I had to do a lot today, so thank you again."
"Don't worry about it. You had every right to act like that." I smile and sit back down. I meant it. Even though I don't have any sort of skills like that, I'm sure those mental attacks can be tiring and traumatizing to deal with.
"Now that that's over, why should I take you in as my apprentice? I know that you just helped me immensely, but I can't just take someone in because they did me a favor. You understand, right?" She says, placing her hands on her lap.
"Of course. In fact, I sort of expected this." I inhale and exhale. "I trust you enough to keep this a secret, but I'm a hybrid between a warrior and support class, which the system labels as a 'burst support.'"
Elena furrowed her eyebrows and raised her head while nodding. I just hope that she believes me. "Very interesting... But I assume that you have something else to tell me?"
I nod back at her. "Both of my classes are 35% overlapped with each other."
She folded her arms and frowned slightly. "Why should I take you in because of that? How can I be sure to believe you? How can I know you're worth my time?" Elena said with an intrigued tone in her voice. That's good. She's interested. I have a 50/50 chance here, so I have to play my cards right.
"I chose you to be my mentor to help me get a better understanding of overlapped classes, and I don't have any reason to lie to you, do I? Our hybrid classes are completely different from each other, and I don't want to hold my cleanse skill hostage, but if I have to, I will." I word carefully, making direct eye contact with her as I do so.
Elena nodded and looked down, considering her options for a bit. Maybe that was too harsh? What if she denies the offer? I didn't really think about what would happen if then. If she does, then maybe I can find a different person? But the only potential mentor I could find that would most likely be okay with me being a support is Elena. This was all or nothing. If she doesn't accept this, then I'll have to do things myself.
"So in short... I scratch your back, you scratch mine?"
"Correct, ma'am."
Elena stared at me and smirked. She brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and stuck out her hand for me to shake. "Drop the formalities, and you have a deal." She says in a joking and friendly manner.
I smile back at her and clasp hands with her, shaking them firmly.
"Deal."