The rain didn't let up for three days.
It came in sheets over Pentos — turning alleys into streams, docks into traps, and the merchant squares into slick stone death pits.
But rain brought travelers. Storm delays forced ships to port, which meant inns filled with foreign coin, foreign wine... and foreign opportunity.
Alex knew how to spot them.
The ones who dressed for colder climates. The ones who carried scrolls instead of swords. The ones who spoke too softly, and paid too well.
One of them walked into Silver Mantle Inn just after dusk on the second night.
Tall. Hooded. Robes layered in dark blue and iron-grey. Beneath the hood, the pale, sharp-lined face of a man in his fifties — skin thin, lips tight, and eyes that didn't miss much.
The innkeeper bowed."A Maester, my lord?"
The man nodded but said nothing.
Alex didn't approach. Not immediately.
He just watched.
The man requested a private room, two pitchers of boiled water, and no fish in the stew.
That last request gave him away.
Only Maesters from the East forbade sea-food during study seasons. Superstition mixed with ritual. Alex had read it in a banned text years ago — in another life.
He knew exactly what he was looking at.
And more importantly… what he might carry.
Later that night, Alex moved.
He waited outside the room, watched the innkeeper leave, and then knocked twice.
"Message," he said aloud. "From the dockmaster."
The door opened just a sliver. That was all he needed.
He reached through with the folded paper already prepared, brushing fingers against the Maester's palm.
System pulsed.
Contact made. Trait surfaced. And something in the air... shifted.
Passive Analysis – Target Detected
Name: Maester Belhon of Qarth
Copyable Traits:
Scholar's Insight (Level 0) – Broadens mental processing power for complex theory, abstract logic, and knowledge retention.
Eidetic Recall (Level 0) – Perfect memory. Permanent.
Magic Resistance (Level 0) – Natural partial immunity to minor magical effects and detection. → Passive → Increases based on willpower and trait level
Alex's breath nearly caught.
Three high-tier mental traits. Any one of them could change the game. But only one had an immediate strategic value.
He picked fast.
Copy Initiated – Scholar's Insight (Level 0)
Daily Copies Remaining: 0 / 3
It was different.
Most traits slotted into place like new tools. This one rewrote the workshop.
It felt like doors opening behind his eyes. Not more thoughts, just room for thoughts. Less clutter. More patterns. He could feel his own thinking sharpen — like grain being sifted through cleaner mesh.
He blinked once.
The Maester looked confused, but said nothing. He opened the letter, read it, and nodded to Alex. "Tell him I'll send my reply in the morning."
Alex bowed and walked away calmly.
But inside, his thoughts were racing.
Back in his candle-lit room, he opened the menu.
New Trait Registered – Scholar's Insight (Level 0)
Enhances cognitive clarity and processing speed.
Improves pattern recognition, abstract deduction, and technical problem-solving.
Duration: Passive
Trait synergizes with: Tactical Memory, Echo Memory, Eidetic Recall (if later acquired)
The implications were massive.
Not only could he learn faster, but he could think further. Deduce. Plan. Outmaneuver.Combine this with Echo Memory and Tactical Memory, and he would soon be operating at a level most generals wouldn't see in a lifetime.
It was a quiet revolution.
And it came with a cost.
The next morning, something changed.
The street was quieter than usual when Alex stepped outside. The air too still. Too alert.
A boy he knew — a runner for the spice district — looked away when they made eye contact. A girl who'd begged for copper yesterday didn't even glance up today.
Something had shifted.
Alex felt it in the back of his neck. An itch without source.
He went to his rooftop, released the raven, and activated Beast Mind-Link.
Beast Mind-Link (8/10)
Connection: AvianArea: Northern Watchhouse – Merchant Circle
From the sky, the city looked normal — until the raven circled the Silver Mantle Inn.
Then he saw it.
Two figures. Robes darker than night. Faces hidden. One stood by the door. The other... watched the window where the Maester's room was.
They weren't from the city.
They didn't look like Silco's men. Or council guards.
They stood too still.
One of them looked up suddenly — directly at the raven.
Alex broke the link instantly.
He exhaled.
Something had noticed.
Not just a person.Not just a spy.
But something trained to sense system use.
Possibly magical.
That night, he stayed inside.
No new copies. No street movement. Just silence. Candlelight. And thinking.
He opened the Archive menu. Looked again at Scholar's Insight.
Then scanned through his roster:
Trait Map (Active Pool): ✔ Scholar's Insight (0/10) ✔ Tactical Memory (2/10) ✔ Echo Memory (4/10) ✔ Keen Smell (2/10) ✔ Balanced Footing (4/10) ✔ Swordplay Fundamentals (2/10) ✔ Quick Bind (3/10) ✔ Canine Command (2/10) ✔ Beast Mind-Link (8/10) ✔ Pain Resistance (1/10) ✔ Tavern Tongue (1/10) ✔ Observant Eye (1/10) ✔ Intimidating Presence (1/10) ✔ Brutal Strength (3/10)
He had 14 traits.
Most were simple. Low-profile. Useful in the physical world.But now… he had crossed into something intellectual.
Something that others might feel when it was used. Especially if they had the right tools.
It was a mistake. Or maybe a step forward too early.
Either way — he wouldn't copy anything else "arcane" unless the benefit far outweighed the cost.
By the following night, the Maester was gone.
No trace. No word. The innkeeper claimed he never stayed there. The boy who fetched his meals insisted he'd served only a "rich Lyseni trader."
Alex didn't believe either.
The man had been removed. Cleanly. Quietly.
And whoever had done it… didn't want witnesses.
Alex tightened his security.
He moved the dogs from his rooftop back to the candle-maker's basement. Set pigeon release signals with salt lines on the windows. Rotated which rats carried notes through the alleys.
Silco noticed his sudden caution.
So did Tregar.
But neither questioned it.
They assumed he was reacting to a rival.
Only Alex knew the truth.
He had gotten too close to something real.
The world of magic and lore was not just myth in Essos. It was subtle. Quiet. Dangerous.
And now, he'd tasted it.
The trait would be used carefully. Never publicly. Only when it mattered most.
But even now — hours later — he could feel it working.
Every street route he memorized stayed perfect.
Every trade map he studied made more sense.
The entire chessboard of Pentos… was beginning to click.
One move at a time.