Getting up, Owen glances through his notifications before spotting some mana-stones still on the ground. Walking over, he quickly collected and stored them all, bringing his total to 22 stones. Seeing nothing else of value, Owen summoned his pack and stuffed all the stones into it. Heaving it onto his back, he began to make his way out of the forest and back towards Moonkeep. While walking, he quickly brought up his other tab and tried to open the Shop.
“Yes, please,” Owen said happily as another Box appeared in his vision.
Looking through the list, Owen noted that each Item seemed to be an object itself; on a whim, he tried to inspect it.
“Fuck yea, OK, I already know what a MRE is, but what about everything else.” With that, he began to inspect every Item available in his Shop.
Going over his new discovery, Owen returned to the path and began heading North. “Alright, so with Skill points, I can upgrade my current skills, upgrade my Shop, or buy completely new Skills. Is that worth it, though? I can already learn Skills outside my class; maybe it’s just a convenience thing. Maybe that’s another thing I need to learn; my normal status only has a few Skills. Are Skills exclusive to a class? If I’m a warrior and shoot off a fireball, will people start asking questions? Alright, add that to the list of things I need to learn about.” As the sun dipped into the horizon, the walls of Moonkeep finally became visible. Not wanting to pay any extra fee, Owen began a light jog. He continued to think about how he fit into this world. His class was Marine, but everyone else saw Warrior. Was this a fa?ade he needed to keep up? Did this world rely on a party system, or was it more solo-based? There was so much he just didn’t know yet, but he was determined to figure this world out.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Befuddled, Owen checked the Skill,
“Shit, I guess there are Skills for random things.” he wondered as he came up to the gate. Showing his Tag, he paid his 1 copper entrance fee and entered the city. As he walked back to the Hall, he noted that it was much more quiet. “Well, it is getting later; I guess once the sun goes down, people settle in and close up shop.” As he entered the Hall, he noticed that the canteen area had a handful of people eating and drinking. Making his way to the counter, he waited behind a round man talking with Murphy.
“Yes, Sir, we can post the job, but again, this type of job is normally delegated to the Knights.” Murphy tried to tell the man before he was interrupted by him.
“Yes, boy, I’m aware, but the blasted Knights have done nothing. My trade is suffering, so I’m here to offer you men the job as well. Clear that God’s damned Dungeon so I know my investments are safe.” Huffing, the large man turned and shoved by Owen as he exited the Hall. Coming up to the counter, Owen saw that Murphy was rubbing his temples before he spoke up.
“Hey Murphy, I’m back to make some money.”
“Haha, very funny, Grest, you can’t just turn in a stone or 2. I need 5 minimum before I can pay you out anything.” Grinning, Owen unslung his pack and dumped out all 22 stones onto the counter. As they tumbled out, Owen noticed that 5 of them seemed to be a brighter purple than the others.
“God’s curse me, what the fuck Grest. Where the fuck. How the fuck. Are you fucking mad?”
“Well, that certainly illustrates the diversity of the word.” Owen chuckled. “Why are you so shocked, Murphy? You told me to kill things and make money. Here you go.”
“Grest, you’re Level 2.”
“Actually, I’m 4 now,” Owen corrected him with a grin.
“You better be after this massacre. 5 Evolved is a challenge for any Tier 1.”
“Wait a minute,” interrupted Owen. “Before you explain what Tier 1 is, I have a question.” Before waiting for a response, Owen continued, “I saw these Warriors making other Gobbo’s kill each other. I ambushed them after they were all tired, but is that normal? Do they get smarter or something?”
“Wow, you really are all brawn and no brain, huh, Grest.” Murphy sighed, “Look, both of those questions go together, so I’ll make this quick. Tiers determine the maximum level someone can reach. Tier 1 is Level 10, Tier 2 is 25, Tier 3 is 50, and Tier 4 is 100. This applies to both Skills and Classes, from basic to common, advanced, and finally elite. Monsters, however, evolve at certain breakpoints, such as Levels 5 and 10 for the Gobbo. For a Warrior such as yourself, once you hit Level 10, you will be given a chance to evolve your class. This will reset your Class to Level 1, but you retain everything else. Sometimes, people simply choose to reset their base class for a chance at a higher-tier class during evolution. Any other dumb questions?” Murphy asked as he finished sorting all the stones into different containers.
“Yes, actually. How strong are most people? I didn’t see anyone else while I was out hunting.”
“That’s simple, Owen.” Murphy sounded dejected, “Only 1 in 10 people get Classes. The rest of us are commoners. This will be my second reset, hoping for Warrior or Brawler. I’ve only been offered, Commoner and Accountant.” Looking at Murphy, he could see the despair in his eyes. “As of right now, the Company consists of only a single Tier 0 and 1.” He stated while pointing at himself and then Owen. “Then we have out 3 Tier 2’s. Sergeant Boulder has a Quartermaster class. Sergeant Fell is an Alchemist, and the Captain is a Ranger.” Hearing him out, Owen used Inspect
“Shit I’m sorry, Murphy. I honestly didn’t know. Hey, how about I get us some food and drink, and maybe you can tell me where I can learn to read. We can talk more about all of this.” He said while gesturing around, “Because between you and me, at least you know what’s going on. I just know how to swing a sword.”
Smiling, Murphy looked up at Owen, “Sure, Owen, let me finish this up. You owe me an extra ale for being an ass.”
